


i loved you first (my armor comes from you)

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: this could be good (love is patient, love is kind) [1]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Coming Out, Do I understand what it's like not to be rare pairing all over the place?, F/M, Gay Male Character, I have no idea how i have hits on literally anything, Ivan is gay, Kissing, Lots of it, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Polyamory, Rare Pairings, Riley is homoromantic asexual, Self-Doubt, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Truth Spells, and I still have no idea how not to write the most angsty shit, and enjoy it, and it's maybe a third of them, but coming in clutch with the angst, but endgame Ivan/Riley/Chase, chase is bisexual, i will wreck your heart, love that tag, no, once again failing at the fluffy romcom story, so i literally counted up how many of my fics DIDN'T have rare pairs, starts off as Chase/Riley, trust me - Freeform, unaddressed psychological trauma, why the fuck do these characters insist on developing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-08-05 19:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16373360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: When the Marks finally start to appear, Ivan has no idea how long he has been trapped within this monster.He has no writing implement, no paints, and thus no way to communicate with his soulmates.He feels so bad at first when the shaky, childish black words ask "My name's Chase. Are you there yet?"And then, in what feels like a second but may be years, green ink answers back: "I'm Riley Griffin."He watches as time goes on and his Soulmates further identify themselves, sharing details about their lives and passions. He learns that Riley loves to learn, lives on a farm, and practices swordplay. (A swordsman as his Soulmate- how incredible!) He learns that Chase is a bit of a troublemaker, that he loves to flirt and loves to skateboard. (Whatever that means.)He watches a love story develop completely independent of him.When he first sees "I love you, Chase," appear on his arm, he feels something strange and wet on his cheeks. He reaches up a hand and his fingers come away covered in salt water.The first time he cries in centuries is the moment he realizes that his Soulmates are perfectly happy without him there.





	1. idealism sits in prison (something so tragic about you)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Samson" by Regina Spektor and "Armor" by Sara Bareilles, and chapter titles are from "From Eden" by Hozier.
> 
>  
> 
> So quick note: this is actually my second Soulmate Dino Charge fic, to be honest. I had one on my old account that was just Riley & Ivan surrounded by a lot of straight people, but that was two years ago and this is now, bitches. We roll with all the gay, the interesting dynamics of poly shipping, and a lot more angst.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strap in for the angst, bitches.

When the Marks finally start to appear, Ivan has no idea how long he has been trapped within this monster. He long ago lost track of time, of anything but the dim light of this monster's prison and the feeling of his armor chafing against his underarms.

He feels so bad at first when the shaky, childish black handwriting asks _My name's Chase. Are you there yet?_

Ivan strains to escape, but he can't, and he feels so bad that he has no writing implement, no paints, and thus no way to communicate with his Soulmate. He wishes he did, wishes he had a way to reassure his young Soulmate that he will be there for him one day.

Despite a lack of answer, however, the black ink doodles continue unabated. Chase- later revealed as Chase Joshua Randall, on a day when Ivan’s Soulmate starts practicing his own name on his arm- draws everything possible, from small wheels to weird circles attached to the ends of a hoop. They are comforting, a reassurance that keeps Ivan from going insane.

And then, in what feels like a second but may be years, green ink answers back: _I'm Riley Griffin, nice to meet you._

 _Two_ Soulmates?

At first, Ivan's heart sings. Two Soulmates- that is twice as much happiness. Two lifelong companions instead of just the one. 

Chase and Riley can keep each other company until he escapes, and then (as long as he's not an Unrequited) life will be absolutely wonderful as soon as he escapes this prison soon. 

He watches as time goes on and his Soulmates further identify themselves, sharing details about their lives and passions. He learns that Riley loves to learn, lives on a farm, and practices swordplay. (A swordsman as his Soulmate- how incredible!) He learns that Chase is a bit of a troublemaker, that he loves to flirt and loves to skateboard. (Whatever that means.)

He watches a love story develop completely independent of him, the eerie light of the monster's prison his only guide by which to see his Marks. He watches as Chase and Riley grow, stumbling through early life and into adulthood, learning to flirt and court each other using Marks inked across skin. Through the years, through the Marks, Ivan learns their flaws and their strengths, the ways they balance each other out and show that they are meant to love and complete each other. Chase is more confident than Riley in the courting area, though Riley is more confident in helping Chase work through more logical problems.  

Chase and Riley eventually make plans to meet for the first time, marking down a meeting at a so-called Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum. Ivan isn't quite sure what that is- they had no ‘museums’ back in his time, or even ‘dinosaurs,’ whatever monstrous creature  _those_ are- but if the two of them decide to have their Soulmate meeting there, then it must be a significant and important place to the two of them. Who knows what might have happened in the time since he was captured by this monster? The world may have changed greatly.

When he sees the words _nice finally meeting you, Chase_ , _love you already,_ appear on his forearm, he feels something strange and wet on his cheeks. He reaches up a hand and his fingers come away covered in salt water.

The first time he cries in centuries is the moment he realizes that his Soulmates are perfectly happy without him there.

-

Afterward, the Marks on Ivan's arm become less and less frequent and of lesser importance. More often than not, they are amateurish drawings of monsters and strange armored warriors, interspersed with strange wheeled boards and reminders for Riley's fencing practices and Chase's trips to the skateboarding park.

(One time, he sees the words _It's Morphing Time!_ penned on his arm and he wonders why the words seem so familiar.)

Chase and Riley are so happy in their relationship, so at ease with each other. They exist in their own partnership, complete and content. They need no one else to make themselves happy.

They don't need him at all. He's an unnecessary Soulmate, a weak link, a possible Unrequited-

Ivan is made aware of his heartbeat for the first time in centuries when his heart skips a beat. He can't be an Unrequited Soulmate. His mother was one, rejected by her Soulmate in her early years, and she spent nearly all of her adult life miserable. He was the only child she ever bore successfully, and he could see the way she looked at him sometimes, like he was just a reminder of the man who she married for an alliance but that left her for his true Soulmate. She loved Ivan, no doubt, but he knows that when he left their home to join the King's Knights, she didn't pay him a parting glance.

But Ivan is determined that, even if he is an Unrequited, he won't become as resentful and bitter as his mother. He will cherish his Soulmates no matter how much they don't need him.

So despite the pain they give him, Ivan treasures every Mark as they mean his Soulmates continue to live and be safe. As they continue to court each other, to exchange these cryptic scribbles and fond words, he can at least keep comfort in the fact that Chase and Riley are living good lives.

-

Finally, after so long without any change in the strength of his prison, the walls start to weaken.

Ivan immediately jumps into his knight training. He struggles and fights against the walls, not giving up no matter how many times he fails to escape. He doesn't give up, doesn't give in, just continues hammering at the walls, ignoring every time he gets forced back inside the monster.

Then, finally, he manages to break through the dark walls, exposing light to his eyes again. As he fights forward, he is still trapped by a hazy film, but he fights and he fights and he  _fights_ and finally-

He is rolling away from the monster, clean air rushing into his lungs for the first time in centuries. The cool air is a balm to his throat, the sensation calming and soothing. He doesn't get much of an opportunity to enjoy it, though, as within seconds someone is interrupting him.

"Dad!" someone shouts, and he finds himself being rolled over and held up by a young man in a red vest who, the second he sees Ivan's face, flinches backward. "You're not my dad," the young man says, "Who the fuck are you?"

"I am Sir Ivan," Ivan says, straightening his back. Merlin, does it feel good to do that. He hasn't been able to stretch in centuries. "Knight of Zandar." Then he turns his attention away from the young man, instead focusing his attention on fighting the monster who captured him. "Finally," he says, every word carrying the same level of relief as the end of a battle, "'Tis my turn to morph." He throws the golden gem into the air and its power summons him a new set of armor that encases him from head to toe, granting him strength in his lungs and limbs.

The words that rise to his lips feel so natural, and despite a lack of context he somehow understands what they mean: "Dino Charge, Power Ranger Gold!"

Then he charges into battle against the monsters, wielding a blade of lightning, and soon finds himself surrounded by warriors in brightly colored armor that he somehow understands as  _Rangers_.

-

"Sir Ivan!” The maiden Ranger says when the battle is over and done with, offering him a broad grin. “Hi, I’m Shelby. Welcome to our, uh, century.”

He smiles and nods at her in return. The blue ranger approaches next. “You will like it here. I show you....burgers.” He makes a gesture as if holding a rock in his hands, grinning enthusiastically at Ivan.

Ivan nods though he has no intentions of staying. After all, his loyalty is to the throne of Zandar most of all and then to his Soulmates, not to this brave but ragtag group of strange Ranger-Knights. And then, almost as if his thoughts summoned the might of Zandar, Ivan spots the Prince and falls at his knees.

"Sire, I am at your service.” He holds out the golden stone. “This belongs to the royal family.” He is a bit reluctant to give away such a thing that seems so close to his heart, but as he had said; it is not his to keep.

The Prince seems confused by his actions, as if he really didn’t expect Ivan to recognize him. (A rather ludicrous concept, if you ask Ivan.) He takes the stone from Ivan slowly, glancing at it before he looks back at the knight on his knee. “Do you know me?” He asks, gaze sweeping over the knight curiously.

“I know the royal blood of Zandar when I see it. I have spent my entire life protecting your family.” Ivan explains.

“Ivan of Zandar? Did the monster not destroy you so many years ago?” The prince wonders aloud, sounding astonished. Ivan shakes his head in denial and feels a rush of triumph as his prince gestures for Ivan to rise.

Ivan stands up semi-gracefully and explains, “I was captured inside of the monster for more than 800 long years. It was not until I was aided by that powerful stone did I finally escape.” _And reach a time in which my Soulmates finally live,_ he continues in his head, but does not say aloud.  After all, they are happy on their own- Ivan has no reason to go hunt them down. But knowing that this is the time that birthed his Soulmates, that he may one day have the privilege of meeting them- that is gift enough.

“It isn’t just a stone.” Shelby cuts in. “It’s an energem.” She explains. She and the rest of the team pull out different stones at the end of their necklaces from underneath their clothing. They're an array of colors, but his eyes decide to fall on the green one and stick there. It's a bright, emerald color, and it matches the shirt (and eyes) of the male who holds it perfectly.

“They have more power than you can ever imagine," the Ranger holding the aforementioned gem says, and the words seem ominous.

“Millions of years ago, ten energems were lost. We’ve only found five so far.” The Black Ranger continues, and Ivan’s gaze goes to him as well, taking in his dark gaze.

“And the stone of Zandar is the sixth.” The Red Ranger finishes, looking exhausted but strong.

Ivan turns back to the prince and the Prince hands him back the gem. Ivan's blood sings at the very touch of the gem, very much like how he imagines finally laying eyes on his Soulmates would be. “Here, the golden energem is yours to do with as you please.”

“Trust that I shall use it to make the kingdom proud.” The Prince gives him a nod that kind of says _make sure you do._

The Prince then notices some sort of long, metal carriage in the distance. “Ah,” he says, “I must be going.” He places a hand on the Blue Ranger’s shoulder as he passes, and something strange seems to shift in the Prince’s face. “I am humbled by your bravery and courage,” he says, “Thank you.” The Blue Ranger grins, a sort of carefree glee gracing his face, as the Prince heads off to his carriage. A few steps away, though, he turns around for a brief moment. “May you discover the remaining four Energems safely,” the Prince says, then turns back around and heads back to his car.

“So, Rangers,” Ivan says, “May I ask the names of the warriors I fought alongside of?” He would like to knows these warriors’ names so that he may spend a small time with them. He is not sure whether they are worth his loyalty yet, but he has no protest to sharing his acquaintanceship now that the Prince has temporarily released him to do whatever he desires.

“I’m Shelby Watkins, Triceratops Power Ranger Pink,” Shelby says, offering out a hand. Ivan stares at it for a moment before taking it and giving a proper shake. “And this lovely man in red is our leader Tyler Navarro, Tyrannosaurus Rex Power Ranger Red.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tyler offers with a carefree smile, giving him a small wave. This is their leader? He does not appear to be much, but then again, Ivan has seen miracles in battle before.

“I Koda,” the Blue Ranger says in that same halting tone as before. “Stegosaurus Power Ranger Blue.”

Then the Black Ranger grins. “Chase Randall, Parasaur Power Ranger Black, mate,” he says, and that’s the first sign that things are horribly, horribly wrong. Ivan tries to maintain some measure of hope within his chest at the idea that this man isn’t the Chase Randall whose name graced his arm all of those years ago, but then the Green Ranger grins and opens his damn mouth.

“And I’m Riley Griffin, Velociraptor Power Ranger Green,” he says, and the strength it takes to keep smiling like nothing is wrong is almost more than it took to escape Fury. His world is crashing down around his ears, and he struggles to breathe properly.

Ivan's heart feels like his own blade has pierced it when Shelby says, only confirming his fears: “And Chase and Riley are Soulmates, just like Tyler and I.”

“Did you have Soulmate in your time, Sir Ivan?” Koda asks, and he tears his eyes away from the poison green of Riley's eyes and the mourning blacks of Chase's clothes.

“No, I didn't,” Ivan says, because it's true but why does this hurt _so much_ -

“Well, maybe you'll meet them in our time,” Riley says, kind smile encouraging.

( _Too_ encouraging, too kind. It would be so much easier to resent these men, to dismiss their worth, if they did not have such good hearts, such courage, were not such graceful warriors with fierce hearts.

But they are, and Ivan will have to live with this for the rest of his life.)


	2. honey, you're familiar (like my mirror years ago)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is the fourth fic, I think, that uses the lyrics of "From Eden" in its title or chapter titles. It is one of my favorite songs, and the lyrics are amazing, but wow. That's a bit much.

Ivan is pretty sure Shelby is the first to catch on, and no wonder- she is the first one to see him with his sleeves down. It's only for a moment, as he rolls up his sleeves to try and figure out these strange clothes that she has found for him in this so-called “shopping mall.”

“You have a Soulmate,” she says, catching a glimpse of green ink before Ivan hastily rolls the sleeves of this strange tunic down. Hopefully she did not get too close a look at Riley's morning drawing- a block sketch of the Ptera Zord, in fact.

(Ivan just thanks his lucky stars that Chase had not added his black ink to the drawing yet- that combination of colors may have been too easily recognizable from the bared arms of the other Rangers.)

“Yes, I do,” he says, because he doesn't think he can get away with denying that.

“How long have you had the Marks for?” Shelby asks, tone guileless through no fault of her own. She does not ask what agony her question brings him. After all- how could she?

The truth is too painful, too heartbreaking, for Ivan to express. How can he say that he watched as his Soulmates fell in love without him, that they have everything they need in a relationship without him there? How can he say that he is an Unrequited, that he knows his Soulmates are perfectly happy without him?

“Since I arrived in this time,” Ivan says. He feels dishonorable for the lie, but it will cause less problems in the team (and to be honest, on a personal level as well) than being honest.

“Do you want to know who they are?”

“Not right now,” he says. “I would rather focus on my duty to the Rangers than deal with the drama of Soulmates.” He's not lying, exactly- he does want to focus on the Power Rangers instead of on the pain of his Unrequited status.  

- 

Ivan knows he has to make himself useful if he is to live in this time. He has to prove himself to this team. So Ivan tries to engage with the team in the best way he knows how: teaching swordsmanship.

Koda bows out nearly immediately, and though Shelby and Tyler try their fighting styles are both far more suited to hand to hand combat and the strange light-blasters than to swordplay, so they decide to train in a group with their comfortable methods, dropping out of Ivan's more individual training within a week.

Chase and Riley, though, both keep going. 

It is easily apparent that Chase's style is better matched for his strange light-blaster than for swordplay. Chase and Riley are both in good physical form, but Chase’s stance leaves a little to be desired. Riley's discipline, on the other hand, translates to swordplay rather well.

Despite this difference, though, Chase continues with training with Ivan. What he lacks in Riley’s training, he makes up for in drive. To be completely honest, it is a rather bitter joy to train with either Chase or Riley.

- 

Watching any Soulmates fight together in battle is always a glorious sight. Soulmates balance each other out intuitively, trusting each other so implicitly that they move as nearly one being, protecting each others’ weak spots while trusting that any weak spots they open themselves up to will be protected by their Soulmate. Shelby and Tyler are wonderful, pink and red moving in a chaotic sort of unison that draws the eye across the battlefield.

Watching his Soulmates fight together in battle, though, is absolutely breathtaking. The way Riley's disciplined swordplay, fashioned after the Greek slashing style, balances out with Chase's faster, more instinctive blaster-work pulls in Ivan’s gaze and refuses to let him go. Ivan has to use the utmost self-control in order to keep himself focused in battle and not getting distracted by his Soulmates.

(Ivan, sometimes, in his weaker moments wondering where he might have fit in with them if he had been a Requited Soulmate. He is even more rigid and disciplined than Riley but his moves pack more of a punch than Chase's do.

Where does that set him in this triangle of warriors? Was he ever meant to fit with them at all?)

-

Ivan never rolls up his sleeves, even in the blistering heat, and it is very different to the fashion of his teammates, none of which seem to like to keep their forearms covered save when Morphed. It makes perfect sense- they are all paired off in happy Soulmate pairings save Koda, who says that in his time, no one covered their Marks. Marks were seen as signs of pride that one’s Soulmate was alive and well, not as something that one could be ashamed of.

(Koda also seems to have no desire to find his Soulmate, and Ivan sometimes wonders why. The Marks on Koda’s arm, written in studious dark blue ink, are perfectly clear. They are not usually too personal- normally just reminders of meetings Koda’s Soulmate has to get to- but there is the occasional small (but incredibly detailed) flower sketch. Despite this seeming formality, Koda’s Soulmate never seems to mind that Koda’s side of things are normally short, incomplete thoughts or nonsensical doodles. Koda’s Soulmate often responds with flowery language and promises of love and fidelity, almost like something out of Ivan’s own era rather than the slang of this time.)

Chase asks Ivan once why he keeps his arms covered, why all the tunics Ivan and Shelby purchased are long-sleeved, why Ivan insists on wearing a long-sleeved overcoat on a constant basis.

“It was considered dishonorable during my time to bare one’s arms in public,” Ivan answers, not quite lying.

“Then how did you find your Soulmate?”

“The custom was to arrange a meeting through the Marks, and only to write while when one was alone, in order to preserve the privacy of one's Soulmate." To try and draw the attention away from himself, Ivan asks: "What is the tradition today, Sir Chase?"

"We still arrange meetings through the Marks," Chase says.

Ivan could ask, he really could, but he's not feeling that masochistic today. Maybe on another day, when he is more comfortable with the team, when he isn't still nursing a broken heart, he'll ask how their first meeting went. He  _is_ curious, despite himself- he wants to know how their happy relationship began, how they fell in love, how they became Power Rangers together.

But instead of voicing his questions, he just nods. "That makes sense, Sir Chase."

-

Every night Chase and Riley head home to their shared apartment, (apparently Chase rented it when he first moved here from the mythical land of ‘New Zealand,’ and since Riley met Chase the day he moved here, he just moved in with him) and every night, Ivan curls up in one of the extra rooms in the base and falls asleep to the sight of Marks inking themselves across his forearm. 

-

Ivan doesn't really understand what Chase is asking them to do, but he is told that it is a "fun activity" enjoyed in this time, so he of course decides to join in. They travel in the museum jeep to the bottom of a hill, where they all get out. Chase grabs a small wagon full of large boards and then leads them all up a path to the top of the hill, bragging about how much "wicked fun" they're going to be having.

Once at the top, Chase hands each of them a board of some sort- hard yellow ones to Riley, Ivan, Tyler, and Shelby, and a flimsier brown one to Koda. Ivan isn't entirely sure what's going on, but he trusts Chase. How could he not? After all, Chase is his Soulmate and his teammate.

Then Shelby starts sliding down the side of the hill on her board, and everyone else follows after her. Ivan takes the cue and slides as well, and a sense of excitement rushes through him. 

This- this is what friendship and this time are about. Fun and exhilaration, the sense of camaraderie among warriors. Ivan loves this way of bonding with his teammates and his Soulmates, without training or duty involved. It makes him feel like a part of the team rather than just an extra part that doesn't quite fit.

And then they hit the bottom of the hill, and everything goes very, very wrong.

-

“Get out of my way, _nerd_ ,” Chase sneers, pushing past Riley, and Riley's mind doesn't quite comprehend the vitriol Chase is using for what is usually a term of endearment. Chase loves Riley's more "nerdy" tendencies- he would never use the word to make fun of him.

“Chase, what the fuck?” Riley snaps.

“You heard me,” Chase says as he turns around, throwing up his hands in a ‘fight me sort of way. Then he storms off, following a similarly angry Ivan, Shelby, and Tyler.

Riley sees the monster sneaking up behind Koda, giant scissors in hand, and he realizes that there's something sinister going on here.

“Chase!” Riley shouts at his Soulmate's retreating back, “Help us!”

Chase's nose scrunched up like he's smelt something nasty. “You deal with it. Not my problem.”

And then he leaves completely, and Riley is left with only Koda to fight the monster.

-

"I'm not friends with  _these_ losers," Chase says after Kendall's dragged the entire team into the base. There are number of echoing opinions around him from Tyler, Shelby, and Ivan, and Riley kind of wants to tear the hair out of his head.

Riley wants his Soulmate back, wants Chase with his wonderful accent and calloused hands and tendency to just zone out and skateboard through places that are not meant to be skateboarded through. He wants Chase and his bravery, his heart, his kind words. He wants Chase's endearingly cheesy flirting, cuddles at night, and random kisses throughout the day.

Riley grabs the pen that he normally keeps in his back pocket and writes _It's me, Chase,_ on his arm, watching as the same green ink appears on Chase's forearm. Riley points to it. “Don't you recognize your own Soulmate?” Riley asks.

Something passes over Chase's eyes, and then a shudder runs through his body. He blinks, and then a moment later he is flinging himself at Riley, apologies spilling from his lips. “Shit, Riley, I'm sorry for being such a prick!”

Riley lets out a relieved laugh as his arms go around Chase's shoulders. "Don't worry," he says, "It was just a monster's influence."

"Still," Chase says, "Lemme make it up to you later.  _Doctor Who_ marathon tonight?"

Riley grins, so goddamn happy to have his Soulmate back. "Not gonna argue with that."

Ivan scowls. “Your happiness is sickening, Sir Riley,” he says, and Riley wants the knight back to normal as well. Riley wants the knight with infinite patience, who will try and help no matter what the situation. He wants the knight who will always smile to make others feel better but will strike at a moment's notice if a monster attacks.

"Back off, mate," Chase snaps at Ivan, and Riley puts a hand on Chase's shoulder.

"He's still operating under the monster's influence," Riley says, "Just like the rest of them. He doesn't mean what he's saying."

Chase relaxes slightly. "That makes sense."

“It seems the visual reminder combined the verbal stimuli from you, plus the energy of the Soulbond, may have been enough to counteract part of the spell,” Kendall announces, voice relieved at a final breakthrough with the problem. "If we can figure out a way to replicate and reflect the energy caused by your renewed Soulmate bond, then we can possibly synthesize the bonds back together using the energy charge."

"English, please, for us non-smart ones?" Chase asks, slipping his hand into Riley's. Riley's not complaining, though- after everything Chase just did, keeping a reassurance of the kindness of his Soulmate by his side is a definitely good idea.

"She's gonna copy our Soulbond energy and use it to restore everyone else's relationship bonds."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Chase says, and his gaze is sad as he looks at the other Rangers. "Anything to get them back."

-

Riley, Chase, and Koda spend the next hour or so trying to keep Shelby, Tyler, and Ivan contained within the base. It's not _too_ hard as once you set the three of them sniping at each other, they'll keep going for up to ten minutes before starting to tire themselves out. If this had been under different circumstances, Riley would have found Ivan's increasingly creative insults rather entertaining. After all, it isn't everyday that you get to hear "you lily-livered flirtgill" snapped at someone in response to an argument.

Then, finally, Kendall grabs Ivan's, Tyler's, and Shelby's Dino Chargers, plugs them into the console, and within five minutes hands over one each to Riley, Chase, and Koda. "Just shoot them with their own chargers," she says, "And it should work."

 _Please let this work,_ Riley prays before holding up Tyler's charger and shooting him with it. Beside him, Chase hits Ivan, while Koda hits Shelby.

The moment the Dino Charger beams hit and the white Soulbonds flare back into being is the moment Riley lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Ivan, Shelby, and Tyler all pause in their squabbling, staring at each other.

"Oh my god," Shelby says, "What were we saying?"

"Did we really call each other all of those names?" Tyler asks.

"I must apologize gravely for what I said to you all," Ivan says, looking straight at Riley, Chase, and Koda. "It was a great dishonor to refer to my fellow Rangers using such language."

"No problem," Chase says, already over Ivan's comments from earlier. And of course he is- Riley knows Chase's heart. Chase holds no grudge against anyone who has done bad things under the influence of a monster. He understands what it's like, after all. Spellbinder did a number on Chase's mind, and Riley remembers all too well the way it felt to have the barrel of Chase's blaster pointed at his face.

"I will try to do better in the future, Sir Tyler," Ivan still insists.

"Don't feel bad about it," Tyler says, "We're used to getting our minds fucked with here on the team, and almost all of us know what it's like to find ourselves doing things we never would in our right minds when the monsters train their weapons on us."

"Welcome to the team, mate," Chase says, "You'll get used to it eventually."

"Well, then," Ivan says, "Thank you for that, Sir Chase."

"No problem, mate," Chase says, sending Ivan a wink, and Riley rolls his eyes. His Soulmate has a tendency to flirt with everyone in the world, it seems. (Not that Riley has a problem with it, though- it's yet another part of Chase that Riley loves. He knows Chase loves him and always will, and the flirting is an extension of his personality.)

"Now," Shelby says, "I think it's time to take down a monster."

"Good idea," Tyler says, and reaches out a hand for his Energem. The no-longer-dark Red Energem streaks into his hand. "Let's go, team!"

And the team follows him out the exit and into battle.

-

Once the monster is defeated, they all DeMorph and the first thing out of Chase's mouth is, "Now, love- I think it's time for that video call."

Riley's brow furrows. "What video call?"

"The one waiting for you back at the base," Shelby says with a grin. "Your mother and brother are waiting with a bunch of party supplies."

Riley smiles brilliantly. "Really?"

Chase nods. "Arranged it myself, with a little help from Ms. Morgan and Shelby. Happy Birthday, love!"

Riley steps forward and pulls Chase into a kiss that has Tyler whistling. Ivan stands there and watching, feeling bad for the jealousy pricking in his heart. Instead of showing the revolting on the emotion on the surface, though, he just smiles. He  _is_ happy for Riley and his birthday. Perhaps a little celebration will wash the acrid taste of this entire day from his mouth.

Ivan sure hopes so, at least.


	3. something so magic about you (chivalry fell on its sword)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the large hiatus between chapters, but if any of you are readers of this series you can probably guess where all that writing time went. Hopefully new chapters of this particular fic will come faster as time goes on, but with finals coming up soon things might continue to be slow. This fic will get updated, though, I promise. Hope you enjoy this chapter in the meantime, though!

Prince Phillip returns and Ivan notices that the Prince always keeps his arms covered by the sleeves of a well-pressed suit. It confuses him- he thought that people in this time were free with their Marks.

“He’s the heir to throne of a very wealthy kingdom,” Riley says when Ivan voices his question during a fencing training session. “And there are a lot of people who would fake Marks that look like his in order to try and get his attention.”

“People would have such dishonor as to fake Soulmate Marks?” Ivan asks, horrified at such a fraud, and Riley nods.

“Plenty of people are greedy enough for such a thing. Some Power Ranger teams, ones who are known as Power Rangers even in their unMorphed forms, have been victim to the same thing, so they have had to cover up themselves. We’re just lucky that not only are we already paired off, we’re just ordinary nobodies in our unMorphed lives as well.”

“You are not ordinary, nor are you nobodies,” Ivan says, looking at Chase helping Miss Morgan with a new Zord upgrade and admiring Riley’s form as they continue to train. His heart aches at the way Riley also glances at Chase, love in his eyes, as he mentions that they’re “paired off."

So then, against all his better judgement, Ivan asks: “How did you two meet?”

To be honest, even though he knows the details leading up to the Meeting like the back of his hand, he does not know what actually happened at it. And like the horrible masochist? sinner? he is, Ivan wants to hear the details. He wants to know what he missed in his centuries trapped.

(He knows that he is going to hear how happy they were without him, but he doesn’t care. Them being happy is all that matters.)

Riley smiles. “We planned the Meeting using our Marks, like most Soulmates do. I had thought that it would be hard as he had said that he lived in New Zealand, but he soon revealed that he was actually living in an apartment in town and working at the museum. Since I was planning on heading that way anyway- I had already bonded with the Green Energem- we agreed to meet that night. Neither one of us revealed the fact that we had bonded with Energems, though, as it had just happened to me that afternoon, and though Chase had bonded months back, Miss Morgan told him not to share it with anyone.

Our first Meeting was actually a complete accident, though. I didn't know what Chase looked like until Shelby pointed him out in the base and I _knew_ it was him. The look on his face when I introduced myself, though, was priceless.”

“You telling stories about me again?” Chase asks with a teasing smirk as he walks over, seemingly finished with whatever he was helping Miss Morgan with. 

“Just the truth,” Riley says, turning to kiss Chase's cheek.

“Whatever he tells you is a lie, mate. Unless it's something good, in which case Riley is the wisest man I know.”

“Aw, thanks for the compliment,” Riley says as he rolls his eyes.

“No problem, love,” Chase says, pressing a quick kiss to Riley's lips.

How does Ivan even think to find a way to fit into that kind of easy dynamic? What Chase and Riley already have- it's magnificent. It's a beautiful relationship founded on easy affection and trust.

“You all good, mate?” Chase asks, and Ivan looks up at him to find Chase's brow furrowed, a look of concern on his face.

“Yes, Sir Chase, I am just fine,” Ivan assures him, wanting nothing more than to see any look of anguish to be kept off of his Soulmates’ faces.

To his eternal gratitude, Chase grins. “Good, mate."

Riley nudges Chase in the shoulder. "Now do you mind going and training over there? We  _were_ in the middle of a fencing training session."

Chase smirks. "I'm all finished, but I'm completely okay with ogling you from the table."

Riley rolls his eyes but gives Chase a quick kiss. "Go ogle all you want, you perve."

Chase winks at Riley before walking off. "You know it, love."

Ivan focuses his attention back on the sparring match, preferring to focus on the clash of blades over his Soulmates' lips.

- 

“So,” Prince Phillip says to Riley and Shelby, who are currently off their shifts in the café. The other Rangers- with the exception of Koda, who's sleeping, are all working right now while Riley and Shelby help develop new tech for the Zords. “You are all paired off?”

“Yes,” Riley says, “All of us except for Koda and Sir Ivan.”

“Oh,” the prince says, tone going a bit strange. “Right. Koda.”

“What about him?” Shelby asks, tone sharp. She is ready to defend the caveman from whatever pompous assholery Phillip may throw at him, Prince or no Prince-

“I do believe he is my Soulmate,” Prince Phillip says bluntly and Shelby and Riley's jaws both drop.

“No way!” Shelby says. “Koda is your Soulmate?”

Prince Philip nods. “Yes, I do believe so. His marks match mine and it's not exactly like someone could have seen mine as I keep them covered at all times.”

“Then why didn't you say something?” Shelby asks.

“Because there are certain rules involving Royals and their Soulmates, certain guidelines that have to be followed. There have to be ways to continue the line, and people have learned to accept same sex couples nowadays, but in Royal circles we are bit behind the times.”

“What about artificial insemination?” Riley asks. “There are plenty of ways to artificially induce a pregnancy. You shouldn't have to worry about the gender of your Soulmate.”

Prince Philip nods. “I know, but it is still hard for some Royals and Nobles to accept.” He glances over at Koda, who is currently sleeping using a rock as a pillow. It's just an everyday occurrence for Shelby, nothing too strange in her world, but Phillip is looking at Koda like he's a Disney Prince, something incredible to his world. "And besides, it's hard to explain having a caveman from 100000 years ago as a Soulmate. The spouses of royalty are some of the most scrutinized in the world. How in the world am I supposed to explain someone as strange and brilliant as Koda to the rest of the world?”

“I don't know, man,” Riley says, “I'm just glad I don't have that problem. Chase is enough on his own.”

“Oh, that's right,” Prince Philip says, looking away from Koda and toward Riley and Shelby. “You and Shelby are both bonded to other rangers, aren't you?”

Shelby nods. “Tyler's my Soulmate,” she says. “And Chase is Riley's.”

“The red and the black respectively, correct?” Prince Philip asks. Riley nods. "Well, that is pretty wonderful that your teammates are your Soulmates. That must work out pretty well."

Shelby nods. "It works pretty well when we're in battle because we know each other so well."

“And Miss Morgan?” Prince Philip asks. “What about her? Has she met her Soulmate yet?”

“Oh,” Shelby says, “Miss Morgan? She already has two Soulmates and she bonded to them a long time ago. They're both Power Rangers from older teams, ones that already fulfilled their mission of defending the Earth. One is Emily Allen Mori from the Samurai team, and the other one is Mack Hartford from the Operation Overdrive team.”

“Oh?” Prince Philip asks, “Miss Morgan is in a polyamorous bond?”

Riley nods. “It's kind of interesting, honestly. Trying to work through that kind of relationship, it must be an interesting balancing act.”

“But it really works for Miss Morgan,” Shelby says. “She's really happy whenever she gets a phone call from them, gets to Skype them, or on any occasion that they visit."

"Yeah," Riley says, "I actually hear that her Soulmates are going to visit next month, actually."

"That'll be quite the adventure," Shelby says, "Seeing her in such a casual setting. It'll be a nice reminder that she's actually human."

Prince Phillip makes a small protest to defend Miss Morgan's honor, but Shelby had meant the comment as a joke, not a genuine insult. 

Riley's expression, on the other hand, is clearly distracted by something entirely different to Shelby's comments. “And then, if Koda is your Soulmate, Prince Phillip, then we just have one unBonded teammate left. I just have to wonder who Sir Ivan's is.”

Shelby glances at the computer screen that shows a security camera's view of the café and Sir Ivan, who is currently working as the waiter. She watches as he uses, probably unwittingly, his gentlemanly ways to calm an annoyed female customer. “I don't know,” Shelby says, “But whoever it is- I think they're really lucky.”

Riley nods. “They really are,” he says, and Shelby looks at him, taking in the way that he is also staring at Ivan. And she wonders.

-

For the rest of the Prince’s visit, throughout the adventures involving the Graphite Energem and him turning into a Ranger, Shelby watches how Phillip interacts with Koda.

Though Phillip is relentlessly polite with everyone, how he acts with Koda seems to come so much more naturally. He smiles whenever Koda does anything, whether it be help defend him in battle or just passes him a smoothie in the café. He offers to help Koda whenever he expresses a problem, and in return, Koda understands the Prince whenever he expresses an unfamiliarity with everyday practices.

Phillip is endlessly polite and kind to the caveman, never once acting pompous like he sometimes does to the rest of them. It’s kind of amazing, and knowing that they’re Soulmates makes so much sense.

And it reminds her, almost absurdly so, of how Ivan acts around Chase and Riley, of the patient and kind way he always speaks and tries to interact with them. It reminds her of the way he spends endless hours helping train Riley in swordsmanship, the way he’ll always take up Chase’s offers to take people to the skatepark, no matter the time or day. It reminds her of the way Ivan stares at them when no one’s looking, the strange, almost longing looks in his eyes when Chase and Riley are kissing or holding hands or just acting like the generally handsy couple they usually are.

It's even in the way he interacts with Chase's sister. After Chase introduces Chloe to Riley- and Riley loves her already, Shelby can tell from the fond grin on his face- Chase introduces her to the rest of them, once again thanking Prince Phillip for saving her during the monster attack. Most of them say hello in passing, maybe share a quick word or two before returning to their jobs, but Ivan gets right down there with her and strikes up a conversation about her dance class. He genuinely listens to her and asks her questions, never once treating her in a condescending fashion.

Shelby notices the way Chase looks appraisingly at Ivan, the way he watches Ivan's interactions with his little sister with an admiring eye.

And then, when Chase claps him on the shoulder and utters a quick, “Nice job, mate, didn't know you were good with kids,” Shelby watches as Ivan grins and says that “It was my pleasure, truly, Sir Chase,” not a hint of sarcasm to his tone.

And Shelby wonders, not for the first time, about what the green ink she saw on Ivan’s arm means.


	4. something wretched about this, something so precious about this (where to begin?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you thought I couldn't make Ivan hurt any more than he already is. Well, here's some relationship development and some internal hell.
> 
>  
> 
> (Also, damn is "From Eden" becoming more and more the perfect theme song for Ivan.)

Ivan takes to carrying around a red ink pen. The color won't identify him, he knows. (He’s avoiding gold ink at all cost for a reason, after all.)

He's not going to write, he promises himself, but just in case.

(Just in case, that's all.)

-

Ivan really wishes it wasn't so easy to fall in love with Chase and Riley. It would make life as a Ranger so much easier if he could just see them as any teammate, even as good of a friend as Lady Shelby is.

But Chase and Riley, the glorious fools that they are, are so goddamn easy to fall in love with. Whether it's Riley's face screwed up in concentration as they practice swordsmanship, or the smile on Chase's face when he mentions his little sister, every single little thing they do makes Ivan's heart ache more and more. Sometimes he hates it, but he can never stay mad at them for too long. He sometimes wonders if it's a side effect of being Soulmates, this inability to stay angry, and sometimes he just wonders if it's his own damn heart determined to make this rejection so much harder on him.

Either way, though, Ivan's life is quickly becoming a mess of trying to balance working, being a Power Ranger, hanging out with the team, and trying to keep his emotions from showing. (And if he’s honest with himself, it’s not really working. The pressure to keep this secret from everyone is building, and he has the feeling everything’s going to erupt some time soon.)

-

Ivan doesn't mean to blow up at Chase. He meant to keep all of his volatile feelings under wraps for as long as humanly possible- perhaps even until he gets home back to his own time, but it seems that the universe is conspiring against him.

Ivan isn't entirely sure what he did wrong this time. Probably some social cue that he misunderstood or some strange technology that this world has that his didn't. It's normally one of those two. But he and Chase are on their shift at the Dino Bite Cafe, and Ivan's screwed something up, and Chase is snapping, “God, Ivan, can't you just keep up?”

And doesn't Chase think that Ivan wants to keep up? Ivan wants to be part of this world more than anything else. He wants to understand the world that birthed and raised his Soulmates, the world that he now lives in. He wants to be as normal as possible, to not have to question every single bloody thing he does and says. “I am trying, Sir Chase,” Ivan says, gritting his teeth.

Chase is not normally a rude person, Ivan knows, so he must be having a bad day or something to cause him to say, “Well, then try harder."

Then Ivan's heart shatters at Chase's next muttered comment: “It’s no wonder your Soulmate hasn’t arrived yet.”

Ivan knows that Chase does not mean it as such, that he is probably just stressed or tired about something (there are bags under his eyes), but this feels like a rejection. And Ivan has to bite his bottom lip to keep from crying. He hates this feeling of weakness, of vulnerability. It is rather unbecoming of a knight or even of a Power Ranger, after all, but Ivan is finding it hard to hold in all of these emotions. There is no one here who he could speak to, no one who would understand. There are no Unrequiteds in this time and place he could confess to, who could comprehend the pain he’s feeling. 

Ivan knows that Chase and Riley will never love him the way that that he loves them, and he knows, heavy certainty on his heart, that he will never be truly happy, never be truly complete without his Soulmates.

There is no way that he'll leave Chase and Riley, unless they ask him to- he will stay by their sides for the rest of his life, helping them, defending them, watching as his Soulmates live happily without him. Ivan is going to spend the rest of his life alone, and it will tear him apart.

Ivan's just seventeen years old, and who knows how long people in this lifetime live to, and all he can see ahead of him is duty and loneliness.

All of sudden, his chest is heavy, his heartbeat increasing, and then he _can’t breathe-_

“Ivan?” Chase asks, crouching down next to Ivan. The knight realizes that he's somehow made his way onto the floor, knees drawn up to his chest and heart hammering against his ribs. “Please, mate, just try to match my breathing, okay?”

Ivan doesn’t know what’s going on, but he trusts Chase. By Merlin, does he trust this troublemaker with the heart of gold. He focuses on Chase’s deep breathing, and breath by breath he gets his breathing to return to normal.

One Chase notices, he breathes a sigh of relief and sits down next to Ivan on the ground. “I'm so, _so_ sorry,” Chase says, and his voice sounds both concerned and frantic. Ivan looks up into Chase's face and sees a look of utter apology in his eyes. “I didn't mean to say something like that and cause you to have a panic attack.”

Ivan's brow furrows. “What is a 'panic attack'?” He asks.

“It's when your breathing and your heart rate gets really fast after someone says something that severely upsets you,” Chase says, “And I think I might have accidentally caused one and you when I mentioned your Soulmate like that.”

Ivan hates the way Chase’s brow is creased in anguish, the way his hands are shaking above Ivan in concern. Chase’s hands shouldn’t be shaking- they should be steady around the barrel of a Dino Charger, the handle of a spatula, the length of a skateboard.

“Well,” Ivan says, wanting to wipe the guilt from Chase’s face. “I do have a Soulmate, as a matter of fact, I just haven't met them yet.”

“You do?” Chase shouts, flashing Ivan the most brilliant grin, and suddenly Ivan can breathe a little bit easier. “Mate, that's amazing! Congratulations!”

Ivan offers Chase a bit of a forced smile. “Yes, Sir Chase,” Ivan says, “Thank you for the congratulatory remarks.”

“Who are they?” Chase asks.

Ivan doesn't want to lie any more than he already has, so instead he offers an evasion. “That is a private matter, Sir Chase. It would be dishonorable to reveal their name.”

To his surprise, Chase doesn't pry any further. Instead he just accepts Ivan's words at face value and nods. “Alright, mate. Whatever you're comfortable with.” Chase stands and offers Ivan a hand. “We good?”

Ivan stares at Chase's hand for a moment before making a quick decision and taking it. Chase helps him to his feet and once they're at eye level again, Ivan looks into Chase's dark eyes and nods. “Our friendship is decent, Sir Chase.”

And Ivan wishes- oh, how he wishes that they could have more than friendship, but he'll take what scraps Chase is willing to give him.

-

Ivan often wonders what will happen after they finally defeat Sledge. Will Keeper send him back to his own time? Will he choose to live the rest of his life here in the present where he can spend time with Riley and Chase, just as friends?

Does he really even want to go back to his own time? There was still a world and a prince of Zandar to defend here, and his entire family is dead back home. His father died defending the king of Zandar and his mother died in childbirth. There is really no reason to go home, unless Keeper makes him.

And really, would Ivan ever really choose to go home? He has his Soulmates here, and even if they don't know who he is, and probably never will, he still loves them and he doesn't think he could ever bear to part from them.

So he will die his death in the present day, if he can, and he will be happy about it.

-

A couple of days later, Chase and Riley enter work and they're not speaking to each other. Ivan has never seen anything so strange, so disconcerting, in his time in this time as Chase and Riley refusing to speak to each other, only exchanging

"We argued last night," Riley confides in Ivan while Riley's working on some piece of machinery and Ivan is fencing with a dummy- Tyler is over in the corner writing in his journal, while Chase, Shelby, and Koda are working in the café.

"You and Chase?" Ivan asks, even though there's no one else Riley really could have been arguing with. 

Riley nods. “Something's off about the balance between us,” Riley says, fiddling with a piece of machinery. His gaze is far away. “And I don't know what it is.”

 _Me,_ Ivan wants to say, but he know that Unrequiteds aren’t often missed. Sometimes the universe is wrong- some Soulmates aren’t necessary. He sure isn’t, after all.

The idea of Ivan giving Riley advice on how to be happy without him hurts, Ivan won't deny, but he doesn't know how not to try and help soothe their issues. He wants his Soulmates to be happy, and his own emotional turmoil is just a thing he has to soldier through. "Perhaps there's just something in your relationship that you have to work through," Ivan says. "Have you guys been engaging in open conversation about any emotional problems you may have?"

Riley nods. "We've been trying to. It's just that sometimes the two of us aren't enough, you know?" He pauses in his work for a moment. "Sometimes I'm too rational, too stuck in the logical side of things, while Chase is too emotional, and there's nothing to get us to the center." Riley sighs as he goes back to his work, splicing two wires together. "I just hope we sort this out. I know we have the rest of eternity to work through things, but I don't want to wait that long."

Ivan raises an eyebrow. He is not entirely familiar to this time's colloquials and slang terms yet. "The rest of eternity?"

"Or at least until however long it takes for the power in the Energems to die on us," Riley explains, "As long as we aren't killed in battle, we don't age." 

The meaning hits him like one of Fury's blows to the gut. By Merlin's name- an eternity alone, never changing, the only people who will be able to remember the same as he all happily bonded? An eternity as an Unrequited?

_What godforsaken hell is this?_

"Ivan?" Riley asks, pausing in his tinkering and looking at Ivan with concern on his face. "You don't look so good. Are you okay?"

"I was not aware of the anti-aging properties of the Energems," Ivan says, swallowing back the lump in his throat. "We will...we will live forever?"

"If the energems stay bonded to us after we defeat Sledge, yes," Riley says.

Forever. A word he hadn't thought of with any particular feeling before, but now only provides him a horrible dread. Forever- alone for all of time. The world will move on, Chase and Riley will eventually will move on, and Ivan? Ivan will get left behind, stuck in a life without anyone by his side.

Even if he stays there friend for ages to come, Ivan isn't sure if his sanity can survive an eternity watching from the side of the field as Chase and Riley love each other with ferocity and casualness that Ivan used to dream of experiencing.

"Ivan?" Riley asks, and Ivan finds that he has once again been staring at the wall as his thoughts wandered down a dark and dangerous path. "You sure you're okay?"

Ivan takes in Riley's eyes, widened with concern, and he wishes- 

But he can't wish- it's not his place. "I'm quite alright," he says to Riley with a smile, and he's lied to both of his Soulmates now but it's okay. It's not as if a lie as small as this one- about the state of his mind, which shouldn't affect Riley in the least- will cause any sort of pain to anyone save himself.

-

The next day Chase and Riley come in for work, hands entwined and smiles on their faces, and something in Ivan's chest shudders. He's happy that they're doing well again, that their relationship is back to its normal fond, touchy state.

They kiss during their shift in the café, already having slipped back into casual intimacy, and Ivan feels almost wrong as he watches. This isn't his to stare at, isn't his to be jealous of or ogle. He is an Unrequited, a piece that was jammed into the wrong puzzle.

And yet- he glances down at his arm, at the words hidden beneath his white sleeve. There is something there, sitting beneath his skin, a missed opportunity that passed him by before he got to write.

Maybe, if he had access to ink when Chase and Riley's Marks began to appear, he could have been a Requited Soulmate. Maybe, if he had been there since the beginning, he could grown with them instead of being the eternal voyeur, watching from so far away. Maybe, they could have been a trio instead of a couple, happy together instead of just the two of them happy without him.

Ivan lets out a small, weary breath and goes back to wiping down tables. Well, a thousand maybes won't change the past, and dwelling on what could have been won't make the future loom any less.

He has to figure out a way to stop focusing on the past and instead on learning to live here in the now.


	5. innocence died screaming (honey, ask me I should know)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I don't write action scenes but I can goddamn try for the sake of The Angst.
> 
>  
> 
> Also entitled "The Chapter In Which Ivan Fucks Up Real Hard Because He's A Messy Bitch Who's Trying To Be Selfless But Failing Real Hard At The Execution Of Things And The Girls In His Life Aren't As Oblivious As The Boys When Realizing This."
> 
> Also also, brief mentions of what happened in the Samurai fic in this series. Not important to understand, but it will add a little bit extra meaning to the passage.
> 
> Also warning: there are brief passing references to suicide. Nothing happens, no character even contemplates it, but it's alluded to once and so if that's a trigger I want my readers to be aware.

Ivan's world shatters a week later, in the middle of a battle. It's supposed to just be an ordinary fight, the monster nothing too special- it just has a few cannon-like attachments to its shoulders, which shoot blasts of energy imitating slashes of light that are usually easy enough to dodge.

But then Riley jumps in front of Chase and Ivan, taking a monster's blow to his front, and he collapses to the ground, falling out of his Morph. 

“Riley!” Chase screams, and his weapon shifts into one of the projectile-launchers that shoots burning light at the Vivex. He becomes a demon, moving at a pace almost imperceptible to the human eye.

Ivan spots a giant slash across Riley's chest, tearing open his shirt and revealing a deep, glowing orange wound over his torso. Ivan's vision goes red, and he cleaves through the Vivex, mind focused on a singular path towards Riley. How could Riley get hurt like this? How could Ivan look away long enough to allow such a thing to happen?

Chase and Ivan reach Riley's side at the same time, and Ivan crouches down, thumb finding Riley's wrist, while Chase supports Riley's head. Ivan manages a single glance up at Chase’s face and finds utter terror there, something he finds reflected in his own soul.

“Sir Riley's pulse is steady, but slow,” Ivan says, something in his heart relaxing, and then sticks his fingers under Riley's nose. He glances at Chase again and finds his face just a bit more relaxed than before. “As is his breathing.”

“Good,” Chase says, and lifts Riley into his arms. Ivan is just a little surprised- Riley is in no way delicate, with a decent amount of muscle on his bones, and lifting him would take a significant amount of strength. “I've gotta get him back to the base. Can you guys take down this monster?” 

Ivan finds himself thinking, for once, about all the dishonorable ways he can destroy this monster. _For Riley?_ He nearly swears, _Anything._ He nods. “Of course.”

“Thanks,” Chase says, then takes off with Riley in his arms.

“Riley all good, man?” Tyler asks, and his leaderly concern is endearing, yes, but not important to Ivan in this instant. All he can focus on is taking down the monster that hurt Riley, exacting justice for the giant wound on Riley's torso.

“Yes, Sir Tyler,” Ivan says as he rises, blade blazing with golden fire, and he’s not sure what his Energem is doing but he’s definitely not complaining. “But this monster will not soon be.”

"Shit," he hears someone say behind him, but he can't be bothered to look. Instead he just charges into battle, the only thing on his mind the utter destruction of this monster.

-

They reach the museum and Ivan is practically running into the base.

“How is Sir Riley?” he asks, bursting into the base ahead of the other Rangers, and his heart nearly shatters at the sight of Riley laying out on one of the cots, Kendall and Chase layering bandages over a giant orange burn on his stomach. It seems as if the wound itself has somehow shifted in the type of damage it is wreaking on Riley. Riley can't die, he just can't, Ivan cannot lose a teammate and Soulmate and friend-

“He’s going to be okay,” Miss Morgan says, “If you can harness the power of all of your Energems and power a new charger.”

“Anything for Riley,” Chase and Ivan say, similar levels of desperation in their voices, but a moment later the rest of the team joins in with their noises of agreement and Ivan’s swiftness of reply is lost in the crowd.

“Good,” Miss Morgan says, smile relieved, and hands them all small cords connected a strange mechanical device in her hands. “Connect your Energem to the clip on the end of each of these wires and focus your energy on Riley. You might feel a bit of a draw on you own personal energy stores, but it will not be enough to drain you." She begins to connect patches connected to her end of the contraption to the skin around Riley's burns. "The machine will seek energy signatures compatible to Riley's. Chase, your energy will be most compatible with his and his Energem as you are Soulmates, so it might pull on yours more than the others’.”

Chase looks at Riley with a look of utter devotion in eyes. “Anything for him,” Chase murmurs, leaning over to press a quick kiss onto Riley's forehead.

Oh, how Ivan aches to be able to do such a thing, to show similar care to his Soulmates. To be able to press his lips to their skin, to hover at their side when they are hurt, to be able to openly declare his care and dedication for them-

But that is a selfish wish. They don't need his extra grief, his feelings voiced. They just need the energy his Energem can give them to heal Riley, and he is far too happy to provide it.

Chase clips his Energem into Miss Morgan's contraption and she flips it on. Ivan can feel the Energem pulling at his skin, trying to draw energy from within him, but instead of fighting it he starts pushing _more_ energy into the Energem. Whatever damage may result is inconsequential, when it is Riley's life is on the line.

Kendall's device shoots light into Riley's skin, and before Ivan's eyes the skin begins to knit itself back together, the sickening orange glow replaced by a green one. Riley's Energem lights up as well, shooting out green light that joins with the light coming from the patches on the burned area. This continues for a few breathless minutes before there is a final blast of light. The glow fades away and Ivan sees that the orange burn is gone from Riley's skin, leaving behind only a thin white scar across his torso.

Then Riley opens his eyes and Ivan can finally breathe again. "Chase?" Riley asks, voice hoarse as he raises a shaky hand to his Soulmate's, "What's going on?"

Chase lets out a laugh, blinking back tears, and pulls Riley into a hug, being careful not to jostle his bandages. "You're back!"

"What happened?" Riley asks, "Last I remembered I was running in front of the monster to take his blast." 

"You were hit by the monster's blast and went down," Tyler says, "Chase took you back to the base while the rest of us stayed to take out the monster, but Ivan ended up taking out the monster by himself. After he slayed it the first time, we all used the Megazord to take it down again before heading back here."

Chase and Riley both look at Ivan. "Ivan took down the monster on his own?" Chase asks, something dark and surprised in his gaze, and Ivan nods.

"But the details are nimportant," he says, "All that matters is Sir Riley's health. Do you need water or other sustenance, Sir Riley?"

"I am really thirsty, now that you mention it," Riley says, and everyone diverts their attention to him- as it should be.

"Your body used a lot of nutrients and energy to repair itself," Miss Morgan says, "You're probably feeling rather depleted right now because of it."

"I shall go fetch the necessary sustenance, Miss Morgan," Ivan says, then turns and heads up to the café to grab the necessary items. Now that Riley is safe, Ivan's not sure he can emotionally handle watching Riley and Chase trade affection, and it would be rude of him to ruin Riley's joyous recovery with his negative emotions.

So he heads out, trying to accomplish something productive for Riley while also keeping his mess of emotions away from this situation.

-

Kendall pulls Keeper aside that afternoon, after all but Riley and Chase have left to either the evening shift- in Koda and Ivan's case- or to their apartment- in Tyler and Shelby's case.

“The amount of power the Rangers generated was more than our calculations indicated,” Kendall whispers, careful not to disturb Riley and Chase. Despite the small likelihood of that happening- Chase has his headphones on and his hand in Riley's, and Riley is engrossed in a book as he waits for his vitals to be cleared- she doesn't want to chance it. “I had my doubts about the amount of power originally calculated and its ability to heal Riley, but what was generated far surpassed that.”

Keeper hums. “Quite strange,” he says, “By how much was the surplus energy?”

“About as much as was calculated as would be added to Chase's Energem due to his Soul Bond with- oh.” Her words trail off as she looks over at Chase and Riley, who are wrapped in their own small world. “That's not possible. They can't have another Soulmate- no one else's Marks have ever appeared on either of their skin!”

Keeper fixes her with one of those inscrutable stares. “Miss Morgan, have you ever heard of an Unrequited?"

Kendall's brow furrows. "It sounds familiar, but I don't remember what it means."

"Then I would advise research, Miss Morgan. It might give you the answers you're looking for."

-

The next day, Ivan's not scheduled to work until the afternoon, and he can't bring himself to train in the base so he goes off to the forest to practice.

As he fences with the dummy, runs through the team's obstacle courses and runs through his stretches, he tries to get rid of the straining in his body. He feels unsettled and wrong in his own skin. Miss Morgan's healing contraption pulled at parts of him he never thought to expose, yanked out energies from him that weren't supposed to be shared, and now his flesh is aching for something he never gave it. He wants to write on his skin, to reveal his identity, to somehow fill the void in his heart that craves connection with his Soulmate.

And yet, despite the yawning, gaping hole within him- Ivan doesn't regret using his Energem yesterday. Riley is still recovering from his near-death- a death that  _would_ have been certain, had Miss Morgan not been able to use that contraption of hers.

Ivan drops his sword and digs out his pen from his back pocket. What Riley did- he could have died for Chase and Ivan, and it would have been Ivan's fault. He hadn't been quick in dodging, hadn't saved himself. The only reason Riley had to protect them was because Ivan wasn't fast enough.

He doesn't know how to admit his guilt and other such feelings to their faces, though. He  _can't_ say this to their faces, because if he admits to being their Soulmate, they'll Reject him, and he can't bear spending the rest of eternity with bare arms and no Soulmate and all bloody alone-

But Ivan has to say _something-_ his honor cannot bear him staying silent on this matter.

Ivan takes a deep breath, uncaps the pen, and presses the tip of the pen to his forearm beneath a doodle of a strangely smiling parasaur Chase made this morning, carefully writing out _I'm sorry._

-

“Chase!” Riley shouts, bursting into the café, and Chase turns around to find Riley running to him, a look of utter fear in his eyes. Chase is utterly confused. “Oh my god, you’re okay!”

“You shouldn't be running, you should be recovering-” Chase says, concern taking over his face.

Riley shakes his head. “I thought you were hurt.”

Chase raises an eyebrow. “Why would I be hurt? The dino comm hasn’t gone off and I’m in the middle of a shift, it’s not like I could be getting up to much shit right now.”

Riley’s brow furrows. “Well, if you didn’t write this-” he says, holding up his forearm, “Then who did?”

Chase drops the spatula he’s holding as he stares at the red ink on Riley’s arm. He glances down at his own, where the same message is written out. “We have another Soulmate,” Chase says, the bottom dropping out of his stomach. “Oh my god.”

“Then why have they never written before?” Riley asks, ever logical. “And why were their first words an apology?”

“Oh no,” Chase says, mind going to the worst of places. He lunges for his hoodie, hanging up on the rack inside the break room, and grabs out a black pen. He nearly digs it into his skin with the pressure he's using as he inks out _Please tell us you're okay, that you're not going to do anything to hurt yourself._

When Chase looks up, he can see the blood drained from Riley's face. “Please,” Riley says, practically begging, “Please tell me that's not their final words.”

For a few breathless moments Chase and Riley stand there, in the middle of the Dino Café kitchen, breath held and hearts barely beating. They may have lost their Soulmate before they even met him.

Then, about a minute and an eternity later:  _I'm fine,_ the words ink themselves in under Chase's question, and Chase and Riley stare at the words until all the red ink starts to get scrubbed away.

“Thank god,” Chase mutters, the pressure relieving itself from his chest. He's finally able to breathe again.

This time Riley grabs out the green pen from his back pocket and writes out _Who are you?_

There's just radio silence, but Riley's worry is still already shifting into joy. “We have another Soulmate, Chase- can you believe it?”

"It explains a shite-ton," Chase says.

"That feeling of sometimes feeling off balance?" Riley says, and Chase nods.

"I didn't like talking about it, but yeah," Chase says, "If we have a third Soulmate, then he's probably somewhere between us in terms of personality. He'll probably be a good balance."

"Not that we haven't done pretty well on our own together," Riley says, leaning forward and giving Chase a quick kiss. "But it  _would_ be nice to have someone who's a better mediator than the two of us."

Chase gives Riley a fond smile. "Nothing wrong with adding one more man to the relationship."

Riley nods. "I just hope whoever it is, he doesn't feel left out because we've known each other for so long before meeting him."

"You're right," Chase says.

An unfortunately familiar smell hits Riley's nose and he nearly groans. "Chase?" he asks.

"Yeah, love?"

"Your burgers are burning."

"Bloody fuck," Chase snaps, grabbing for his spatula and hurrying to the oven. Riley chuckles as he watches his Soulmate dart about, trying to fix things.

He may have another Soulmate waiting out there, but the one he already has is so endearing in his own right.

-

“Guys!” Riley shouts, bursting into the base, hand clutched in Chase’s, after Chase's shift has ended, and Shelby raises an eyebrow at the brilliant grin on his face. “We have another Soulmate!”

“You do?” Kendall asks, jaw dropping, and Chase nods.

“We got some new red Marks on our arms earlier today that neither one of us wrote,” Chase says, “Our Soulmate wiped it away, but somewhere he's out there!”

“How do you know it's a he?” Shelby raises an eyebrow. “You know, if you don't mind me asking.”

“I'm gay asexual,” Riley says, and wow, that's a bit of a coming out. “And though Chase is technically attracted to women as well as men, if he's the Soulmate of both of us, then he'd have to be a guy.”

“Well, whoever he is, that’s amazing!” Tyler congratulates them, “Wait ‘til we tell Ivan and Koda!”

The bottom drops out of Shelby’s stomach. Ivan- oh my god, _Ivan._ Ivan, with his green ink and shifty talk of Soulmates and the way he’s always staring at Chase and Riley. Ivan, who isn't here, who always keeps his sleeves rolled down, who has had one of Miss Morgan's red pens sitting in his jacket pocket for a few weeks now.

Holy shit. There’s no way-

She watches Chase and Riley, sees the absolutely optimistic smiles on their faces, and she knows. She fucking _knows_ what Ivan is hiding.

That  _bitch._

-

Ivan is sweeping when he gets pulled to the side by a very determined Shelby. “Lady Shelby?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. “Why did you pull on my arm in such a violent way? I was trying to complete my work.”

“You're their Soulmate, aren't you?” Shelby asks, firing the accusation point-blank, and the bottom drops out of Ivan's stomach.

“Whose Soulmate?” he asks in an attempt at pretend ignorance, but she just gives him a sharp look.

“Chase and Riley's,” she says, and he thinks about his moment of weakness earlier, when he had thought himself instead of his Soulmates’ happiness.

“Please, Lady Shelby,” Ivan begs, tone quiet, “Do not tell Chase and Riley about this. It was a moment of weakness, nothing more.”

“Why not?” Shelby asks, “You all will be so much happier together.”

“Because they are already happy with just the two of them,” Ivan says, “And I may not be enough. Instead of adding something to the bond I may weaken it. And we cannot afford for our team to be disrupted by conflict because of one man's selfish wishes.”

Shelby seems almost offended by the notion. “Ivan, you’re their Soulmate. Of course you'll be enough!”

And that’s where she’s wrong. “Lady Shelby, do you not have Unrequiteds in your time?”

“I've heard of them but I've never met one in real life.” Oh. That explains so much. “I thought they were just fairytales told to scare children.”

“Well, they were a lot more common in my time period. My mother was one. And I know that I'm most likely one as well.” He swallows, imagining the looks of rejection on his Soulmates’ faces. They’d be so kind about it- he knows them too well to see them do anything but be polite- but he knows that they would tell him that he wasn't wanted. After all, why would they? “But having that confirmed? Well, that would break my heart.”

Shelby's expression softens. “Okay,” she says, "I won't tell them."

Ivan's shoulders slump in relief. "Thank you, Lady Shelby." He won't have to worry about his Soulmates finding out who he is and making an official Rejection.

"But just know that I don't think they'd reject you, Ivan," Shelby says, voice gentle despite the pain her words induce. "I think they'd accept you, and they'd love to be with you."

"I'd love to believe you, Lady Shelby," Ivan says, "But I've seen them. They're happy together. They don't need a third."

"You didn't see how happy they were when they found out they had a third Soulmate," Shelby says, and for a moment Ivan wonders about the scant possibility that Riley and Chase might-

No. He has seen the years of evidence inked on his skin and he knows that they don't need him, no matter what they may think about a third Soulmate.

-

“It's Ivan, isn't it?” Kendall asks Keeper softly as she watches Chase and Riley practically shout out their newfound Soulmate to the world. She’d figured it out shortly after their conversation the day before: all of the Rangers have clear Soulmate Marks save Ivan. It would be all too easy for him to hide his Marks under the guise of propriety, and the fact that Koda, though Unbonded so far, has Marks that clearly do not match Chase and Riley's. 

The only question is why Ivan wouldn't tell them. There's no way he hasn't realized their connection, what with the way Chase and Riley casually write to each other even when they're just in different rooms in the museum. They write more than Emily and Mack do, and her Soulmates are currently in another country.

“Does he...does he believe himself to be an Unrequited?” She’d done some research into the concept last night. She’d thought it an old wives’ tale, a tale her parents had told her as a bedtime story, but some old primary sources record it as far more than that. The concept is such a horrifying one- that some people were so scared of accepting their Soulmate that they declared an official Rejection, permanently severing the bond- that she can hardly stand to think of it.

However, though the words to an official Rejection have been lost over the years, they seem to have been used with decently common frequency during Ivan’s time- which means it would be perfectly feasible for Ivan to believe himself to be an Unrequited. 

"You'd have to ask yourself, but it does seem to be a reasonable conclusion," Keeper says.

"That must be absolutely horrible," she says, just imagining a world where she thought that Emily and Mack would reject her. Despite their differences- Emily and Mack are far more cheerful, peppy people than she is- she never would have even thought of them rejecting her. Emily mentioned a few years back that some of the Samurai Rangers on her team didn't like talking about their Soulmates, but it wasn't because they were afraid of rejection- rather, it was because of tradition and focus, a desire not to reject their Soulmates but to be better Samurai Rangers.

Kendall remembers the stories about what happened when Mike and Kevin realized they were Soulmates- they didn't begin a relationship immediately, but they didn't reject each other. Of course they didn't- your Soulmate is meant to complete you. The idea that Ivan could think that Chase and Riley would reject him, would not want him as their Soulmate- it's an absolutely unnatural idea.

"There are a number of quiet tragedies when it comes to humanity," Keeper says, sounding old and weary and reminding her of just how unfathomably old he his. "Some of them eventually grow happier outcomes, and others languish until fading away into sorrowful endings."

Kendall looks at these two kids she's brought under her wing, thinks of the knight who has been living alone in a room in the base. She has grown pretty fond of the three of them, just as she has Tyler and Shelby and Koda. She doesn't want a 'sorrowful ending' for them- she wants happiness for them, in whatever way they can find it.

-

By that evening, it is a well known fact amongst the team that Chase and Riley do, in fact, have another Soulmate waiting somewhere out there for them. Most of the team has offered their congratulations to Chase and Riley, but every time the words rise to Ivan's lips they taste sour.

Ivan looks at Chase and Riley and hates himself just a little bit for the false hope he has given them of a Soulmate that will actually make them happy. He wishes that they wouldn't hope for such a thing- they are happy with just each other, and have no need of another Soulmate. A third, despite Riley's comments towards unbalance, would upset their relationship- especially because the one they're waiting for is Ivan, who has actually watched the process of their relationship developing and them falling in love with each other so he  _knows_ that they didn't need him and they never will.

But Chase and Riley's grin when they speak of their Soulmate- it cracks something in Ivan's heart. 

"Looks like we just need to find Riley's and my Soulmate," Chase says, clapping a hand on Ivan's shoulder, "Your Soulmate, and Koda's, and then we'll be complete."

"Yes," Ivan says, trying to choke back the bitterness, "Then we'll be complete."

Does he even knows what that word means anymore? Will he ever possibly understand what it means to not have a gaping hole in his heart?

He looks to Shelby and finds her staring at him with a sympathetic look on her face, and he realizes that despite everything- despite opening his Soulmates' hearts up to inevitable disappointment, his own fear over Riley's health and well-being, and his eternal Unrequited status- he does at least have a friend who understands in Shelby. And that has to be worth something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also in which I realize I could write an essay discussing the parallels/contrasts between the way I've set up the SPD OT5 and Ivan/Chase/Riley in this series and how despite the similarities, the slight differences lead to rather different character arcs/final scenes within the stories themselves.


	6. slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love writing outsider POV, and specifically Shelby's POV. Allows for even more angst and plot building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I was busy working on other fics and I had a minor car accident on Saturday, so I've been a bit distracted from working over the past couple of days. Don't worry, I didn't get any major injuries, but I've been pretty sore and tired. Hope you enjoy this chapter, though- this one is pretty angsty.

Samhain arrives and Ivan is made aware of the annual tradition that has now come to be known as Halloween, in which everyone dresses up in costumes and does  _not_ celebrate the end of the harvest season.

And to be honest, though it's yet another of the many strange modern traditions Ivan doesn't understand, he thinks he enjoys this one. After all, the ability to disguise oneself for a single night of the year, to be someone different than you have to be on a regular basis- he can definitely see the appeal.

That is, of course, until Chase somehow makes everyone on the team the same costume, to his Soulmate's combination of irritation and amusement. Riley nudges Chase in the side, rolling his eyes as he does so, and Ivan cannot resist a small smile at their antics.

Then they head up to the party, and though there are a many strange events happening- things such as 'limbo,' a 'piñata,' and that lovely refreshing modern-day invention of 'soda'- Ivan finds himself enjoying everything.

 

-

Shelby is having a pretty good time at the halloween party. Her and Tyler have done plenty of dancing to what is a pretty surprisingly good music mix, she's taken a few swipes at the piñata, and she has eaten her fair share of snacks. 

Then, while she's in the middle of acquiring a cup of punch for her and Tyler (who's busy showing Ivan how to limbo), her Dino Comm vibrates against her hip. She moves to the side of the room and checks her Comm to find an alert to head to the base.

Well, fuck.

-

By the time Shelby, Tyler, and Ivan slide in behind everyone else, Miss Morgan has her hand out and is, for some reason, counting all of the Rangers as they pull off their costumes to look at her.

“One, two, three, four…” Miss Morgan counts through all of them, a look of confusion spreading over her face as she counts six.

“What’s wrong?” Tyler asks, raising an eyebrow.

“A little while ago, a Ranger was kidnapped from the party, but all six of you are here,” she says, “Which must mean... one of you must be a fake!”

Shelby immediately starts looking around at the other Rangers, and to no surprise finds them all examining each other as well, looks of suspicion on their faces.

She looks at Tyler specifically. She’d be able to tell if her Soulmate was fake, right? She’d been hanging out with him all night- well, except for that bathroom break she’d made, and the time when he’d wandered off to dance with the rest of the boys...oh, shit. She finds him staring at her in similar suspicion, and she hates having to second guess her Soulmate, but what if that’s a monster pretending to be him-

“To check those of us that have Soulmates, we could just write on our arms, right?” Riley asks, and relief instantly rises in Shelby’s chest. She pulls out the pink pen from her back pocket (it had been purple as a kid, but ever since she’d become the Pink Ranger she’d switched colors. You know, for kicks.) and writes on her arm, Tyler’s similar red Marks appearing on her arm at about the same time. She looks up and gives him a thankful smile, the lump in her chest unraveling a bit in relief.

She looks over and sees Riley and Chase experiencing something similar, black and green ink streaking their forearms. Something similar should be appearing on Ivan’s arm-

Holy shit. Ivan.

Shelby looks over at the knight and finds him still in the black sweater and jeans that Chase had recommended he wear under the ghost costume, sleeves down and covering his Soulmarks as always.

Well, _shit_. 

They’re trapped in a Catch-22. If Ivan doesn’t pull his sleeves up, there’s no proof that he’s not an imposter. But if he does pull them up and shows everyone Riley and Chase’s Marks on his skin, then he’ll be exposing his connection to them. Shelby knows that that is Ivan’s greatest fear. And since no one save Shelby knows that Riley and Chase are his Soulmates, it isn’t suspicious if he doesn’t pull his sleeves up. So she can't check if he's an imposter, but it would be _so_ easy to check, and that nags at her.

“Now, I’m going to put you all through a lie detector,” Miss Morgan says, “Even those of you that just tested your Soulmate bonds, and you all will have to hand me your Energems until you have proven you aren't a fake.”

“Wait a moment,” Shelby protests, “We just proved that our Soulmates are true-”

“We don’t know how far the monsters may have gone to replicate you,” Miss Morgan says, and fear shoots through Shelby’s heart at the idea that they might have violated the most sacred of bonds. She looks over at Tyler, at the man she loves so dearly, and she nearly shudders at the idea that even with her Marks on his arm he might be an imposter. “They have no conception of how precious and inviolate a Soulmate bond is, and I think even if they did, they’d have no moral boundaries in somehow trying to fake one.”

“Okay,” Riley says, “That’s a good idea.” Shelby looks over and sees that way he’s standing next to Chase, like normal, but with such stiff posture, as if he’s just as afraid as Shelby is that his Soulmate is a fake. (And with good reason, too.)

Miss Morgan collects their Energems and then Chase is the first person to go through Miss Morgan's lie detector. He sticks his arm into her machine, his regular confident smirk on his face, and Shelby almost doesn’t need a lie detector to know that this confident prick is Chase. She glances at Riley, though, and sees the way that he’s leaning against one of the dashboards, hand held to his face in a position of worry.

“How did you meet your Soulmate?” Miss Morgan asks, and Chase grins.

“I met Riley when he first entered the base with Shelby and Tyler. It was just a regular old day for me, but Riley had just bonded with the Green Energem and he arrived with Shelby and Tyler. They all showed up in the base when Koda and I went down to the base for the day, and Shelby introduced all of us, which is when I realized who Riley was."

“That would be the first thing anyone would look for in an interrogation,” Riley criticizes, and Shelby doesn't miss the slightly wounded look on Chase's face. “What did we do on our first date, and what did we tell each other?” 

Chase looks Riley straight in the eye when he answers. The look in his eyes is kind of dark, and if it had been Tyler giving her that look, Shelby would have shivered. “Our first date we literally just sat in the Dino Bite Cafe. It was after your first shift, and we had decided not to do anything fancy 'cause we were both tired. I told you that all my life I had been afraid that I would end up never getting to meet you and finding my other half, and you told me that one of your brother's Soulmates stopped writing to him months ago and that you had been afraid that the same thing would happen with the two of us before you got to meet me."

As Shelby watches, she sees that Ivan has no discernible reaction to Chase’s retelling. Either he’s developed some fantastic BS powers, or...

There's something she's missing, she knows it. When it comes to Chase and Riley, Ivan wears his heart on his sleeve. The fact that he's not reacting- that's not normal.

Miss Morgan hands Chase his Energem and he looks out on the team. "Riley," Chase says, tossing him something between a smile and pursed lips. "Your turn next."

Riley nods and steps forward. "Of course," he says, and he does seem somewhat apologetic for asking such a personal question as he goes without argument. He sits down, slides his arm into the lie detector, and looks up expectantly at Miss Morgan.

"How did you bond with your Energem?" Miss Morgan asks.

"I was practicing fencing when my dog Rubik ran out into the forest and started howling. I ran out and found Fury attacking. I fought back against Fury to protect Rubik and ended up bonding to the green Energem when my practice sword got buried in the ground next to the Energem."

Well, seems reasonable, and his answer isn't setting off the lie detector, but once again the team isn't satisfied with such a generic question.

Miss Morgan looks to Chase. "A more personal question?" She requests. 

"What did our Soulmate write us?" Chase asks, question pressing harder than she thought he would be willing to go. It must be a bit of resentment over the prying nature of the question about their first date, or maybe he just wants to ask a question that a monster would never think to torture out of a Ranger. Either way, Shelby has a very bad feeling about the way these questions are going to go from now on.

"He said  _I'm sorry_ ," Riley says, face going pinched in a way Shelby hates. He looks like sharing the answer gives him a lot of pain, and she has to refrain from looking at Ivan to see his response. "And then we asked him if he was okay, and he said  _I'm fine._ And that's all we've heard since."

That's what Ivan left them with? Just a few words that must have terrified his Soulmates, and then nothing? Shelby looks at Ivan, whose expression is still unreadable. She's getting a pretty bad feeling about him right now, and her suspicions keep growing. If that really is him then she feels really bad about it, but she can't help but question his lack of reaction to Chase and Riley's pained expressions.

Miss Morgan hands Riley his Energem as he stands. "Ivan, you're next," Riley says, expression innocent of any negative emotions toward Ivan. And of course it is- Riley knows nothing of what Ivan has done.

Shelby glances at Chase and Riley before looking at Ivan. They're both leaning against the counter, sides pressed close against each other. They're not looking at each other, but Chase's hand is against Riley's lower back and they do seem to be taking some measure of comfort in the fact that they're both real.

Then Shelby looks back at Ivan as he sits down. He rolls up his sleeve to stick his arm in Miss Morgan's machine and at the sight of his bare skin Shelby _knows_ that Ivan’s the imposter. She has to find an opening to expose the monster,  though, one that won't reveal Ivan's secrets. She promised she wouldn't out him, and she keeps her promises.

“Ivan,” Miss Morgan asks, and something in her tone is off. Shelby's not exactly sure why- she's pretty sure she's the only one who knows the truth about Ivan's Soulmates- but there is  _something_ going on with the dip in Miss Morgan's voice. “Do you have a Soulmate?”

Well, that is certainly more personal question than the ones she started off Chase and Riley with.

“I do,” Not-Ivan says, to Shelby's complete and utter shock. “And they’re living in this time."

“Have you met them yet?”

Chase straightens up at the question, and Shelby’s brow furrows. What has the real Ivan told Chase about his Soulmate? 

Not-Ivan shakes his head. “I have not met them yet,” he says, and Chase relaxes back in his chair. Ivan must have lied to him with whatever he told him about his Soulmate.

Shelby, on the other hand,  _knows_ he's lying. He  _has_ met his Soulmates- they're standing right in front of this imposter, watching him without knowing the lie behind his words and the ink that should be lining his arm.

And Shelby can't quite bear it anymore. 

“He’s a fake,” Shelby says, “That’s not the real Ivan.”

"She's right," Miss Morgan says, and Shelby's eyes go wide as she glances at the museum director. How does Miss Morgan know that?

“How do you know?” Tyler asks, eyebrow raised in question, but Shelby’s explanation is cut off as a ghost tumbles through the slide and onto the floor, grunting as it tries to stand up even with its hands are tied behind its back.

Chase and Riley run over to help the ghost up. Riley notices the rope around the ghost's wrists and quickly untied it and pulls it off while Chase pushes back the gag over top of the sheet. The ghost himself yanks back the sheet, revealing an irate Ivan beneath.

“I am very sorry for letting you down, team, but a monster took me captive!” He begins, and Shelby breathes a sigh of relief at the fact that she didn’t have to expose the truth of his Soulmate status to the group.

Then he looks past Chase and Riley and toward the imposter, and his jaw drops.

“That is not me!” Ivan declares. “That is an imposter!”

“That’s pretty clear, mate,” Chase agrees, and Shelby watches as Chase and Riley’s gazes drop down to imposter Ivan’s forearms, bare unlike any time any of them have ever seen Ivan.

“Prove you're the real one and I'm not,” the imposter says, “Roll down your sleeves.”

Ivan instantly reaches up and clutches at his wrist through his sweater sleeve. “I cannot do such a thing! It would be dishonorable to reveal my Soulmate's Marks!” Shelby nearly laughs at the indignation in his tone- if this isn’t Ivan, she doesn’t know what is.

The monstrous Ivan smirks. “You haven't told them, have you?” Ivan's face drains of color. “Pitiful little Ivan, hiding the truth from his team.”

Shelby’s had enough of monsters fucking with their minds. She pulls out her blaster, quiet as possible, as the monster says, “You know, you’re a coward, Ivan of Zandar. You should just tell them who your Soulmates are, watch their disgust when they find out-”

Shelby shoots from behind, sending the imposter to the ground. The copy flickers as it hits the ground, transforming into a monster in a Victorian-style gown and hideous vampiric face.

“Thank you, Lady Shelby,” Ivan says, tone strained.

“No problem,” she says, and those aren’t the right words she wants to use- because Ivan should know that she wants him, that Chase and Riley want him, that to defend him is their privilege and honor just as much as it is for him to defend them- but Ivan isn’t looking very good right now, his shoulders shaking and his hand going to his heart.

“Ivan,” Chase asks, putting a hand on the knight’s shoulder. “You okay, mate?”

“I think-” Ivan says, voice weak, and Shelby notices that his breathing is ragged and his face pale. “I think I am having a ‘panic attack’ again, Sir Chase.”

“ _Again_?” Tyler hisses, but Chase is already taking Ivan through a breathing exercise. Shelby watches as Ivan's breathing slows and the color returns to his face, and she wonders how Chase knew automatically what to do to help Ivan, and why Ivan turned to him first.

“I think I am all good, Sir Chase,” Ivan eventually says.

Chase gives him a relieved smile. “Good, mate.”

Now that Ivan seems to have recovered from his panic attack, Riley seems to feel comfortable putting a hand on Ivan’s other shoulder. “You’re not a coward, Ivan,” Riley says, “That monster was lying. You’re one of the bravest people we know.”

"Why thank you, Sir Riley," Ivan says, giving Riley a smile so soft and fond Shelby wonders how it took her so long to realize they were Soulmates.

Then Riley opens his mouth and asks the damn question that has Ivan's soft expression shutting down fast and hard.

-

“But Ivan,” Riley asks, “Have you met your Soulmate yet?”

Ivan glances between Riley, Shelby, and Chase, feeling the lies he’s told curling against his tongue. He doesn’t want Chase to think any less of him for lying to him, especially after everything Chase has done for Ivan, but he doesn't feel right lying to them when asked such a direct question.

“Forgive me for lying, Sir Chase,” Ivan says, and behind Chase, Shelby is making a strange cutting motion against her throat with her hand. It is somewhat troublesome, almost as if she is wishing harm upon herself, and Ivan must talk to her about that later. Shelby is a good friend and he does not want to see her in pain. “But yes,” he says, “I have met them.”

“That’s awesome, Ivan,” Riley congratulates him, smile painful to look at. “Who is it? We’ve gotta meet them-”

“However, they don’t want me as their Soulmate,” Ivan says, because he knows that they don’t. There’s no way that they could want him.

Riley and Chase’s expressions sour. “Really?” Chase asks, “How? You're a great guy, and you'd make a great other half to someone. You sure, mate?”

Riley nods next to him. “You'd make a wonderful Soulmate, Ivan, trust us."

 _They already have another half,_ Ivan doesn't say, because it'd be pointless.

“I'm sure,” he says, because there are a lot of things he's uncertain of in this time, but this is one fact he knows to be true despite Shelby's claims to the contrary.

"Well, you're always gonna have us," Riley says, and in the distance Shelby nods.

"They're right, Ivan," she says, arms crossed, voice firm, and Ivan nearly flinches from the way she's looking at him, staring straight into his soul. "For however long our fight lasts, for however long we stay bonded to our Energems, we will  _always_ be here for you. This team is a family, whether you like it or not."

"Thank you, my friends," Ivan says, and the word 'friends' seems to carry something deep inside of it.

Perhaps eternity will not be a punishment, if it means having these people at his side.

"Now," Tyler says, "Anyone want to go back to the party?" His tone is jovial, but his gaze focuses on Ivan, and Ivan realizes that this is probably an attempt to make him feel better.

"Let's get rid of this monster body first," Kendall says, "And then we can go back to the party."

"Good plan," Tyler says.


	7. there's something so wholesome about you (get closer to me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst and fluff and development, all at once. At least it's long, right?
> 
> *shoves chapter at you and runs away*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Ivan sings/is referenced is "Tender" by Blur, my favorite song of all time. Originally written as a break up song, it can be interpreted as a love song or a goodbye, depending on how you listen to the lyrics, and it's really fitting for Ivan if you listen to the song. Very much recommend.
> 
> Also, I kept listening to "Til I Forget About You" by Big Time Rush while writing major portions of this chapter in addition to "Tender" and the usual "From Eden". Not sure if that's useful info or not, but I'm giving it to you all.

Ms. Morgan's Soulmates are certainly a bit surprising. They're both so...cheerful, compared to her.

Emily's the first one Ivan properly meets. He's working in the cafe when she walks up to the counter he's currently wiping down. For the first few moments he assumes she's just a normal customer, a tourist visiting the museum. She's dressed in the sort of clothing he's learned to expected of this time, in a yellow blouse, white cardigan, jeans, and white sneakers, with her curly blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, and is grinning like this is her first time visiting.

(To be honest, she reminds him of a delicate version of Riley, with her cardigan, blond hair, and bright smile.)

Then she speaks. "Hey, do you know where I could find Kendall Morgan?"

Well, Ivan knows for a fact that Ms. Morgan is currently working in the base, so Ivan must think of a good explanation to provide this young woman. 

Riley, thankfully, already has this covered. "She's busy taking care of something in the museum. Who may I say is asking?"

"My name's Emily Allen Mori," she says, "And I came with Mack Hartford. She said she was expecting us?"

"She didn't say you guys were coming  _today_ ," Riley says, shock apparent.

A man in a long-sleeved black t-shirt with a short-sleeved red button-down thrown over it (certainly a strange fashion decision, from what Ivan knows of this time) steps up to the counter next to Emily.

"Hey, Em," he says, grin as bright as hers, and Ivan's not sure where the two of them get all of their optimism from. "You find Kendall yet?"

"No," Emily says, "But I  _did_ find a couple of her Rangers." Ivan's jaw drops, and in front of him Riley seems a bit surprised by that as well, so Ivan's not completely out of the loop on that.

"How do you know-?" Riley begins, and Mack just smiles.

"-That you're Rangers?" Mack asks, and Riley nods. "Well, Kendall told us, of course." 

Wait a moment. "Pardon me for asking, sir," Ivan says, "But why would Ms. Morgan tell two strangers of our identities as Rangers?"

"Well, first off," Emily says, "We're her Soulmates, and second of all, we're kind of former Rangers as well."

Now Ivan's jaw has, how do they phrase it in this time period, seriously hit the floor. He looks at these two unassuming tourists with their bright smiles and carefree postures, and tries to imagine them in Ranger armor. 

He has heard there were Ranger teams before theirs, but he knows very few specifics. This man is wearing red- is he a leader of a Ranger team like Tyler? Is this Emily a member of the same team?

"What teams?" Riley asks, and Ivan doubletakes. Is it well-known information that there are previous Ranger teams?

"I was Operation Overdrive Red," Mack says.

"And I was Samurai Yellow," Emily says with a smile, and these words clearly mean something to Riley from the way he nods and smiles, but Ivan isn't processing any of it. He looks helplessly at Riley, who doesn't seem to pick up on his discomfort because he's too busy looking at Mack and asking him some question about the Hartford estate.

"You must be Ivan," Emily says, offering a hand to him, and there's something in her kind eyes that, somehow, despite her clear physical resemblance to Riley, reminds her of Chase. "Kendall's explained your...particular past to us. There's probably a lot you don't quite know yet about our world, right?"

Ivan nods gratefully, pushing back the small quick of loss at Riley's lack of help. "I didn't realize there were more teams before ours, Lady Emily."

Emily's brows rise slightly. "Really? Kendall didn't tell you anything?"

"Miss Morgan  _is_ a rather busy woman," Ivan says, desiring to defend the museum director. After all, she does maintain two high-level directorial jobs as well as constantly updating their weaponry. If she neglected to mention something, Ivan is sure it wasn't on purpose.

Emily smiles. "Oh, I know, trust me. That's why we're here, you know."

The door leading into the back hallway opens and out steps Miss Morgan, eyes trained on the tablet in her hands rather than the people in front of her.

"Miss Morgan," Ivan says, gesturing in her direction, "We have something for you to see!"

"Does it have to do with the fact that Tyler is currently covering all of the tables?" Miss Morgan asks without glancing up, still tapping away at her project. "Because if so, I don't want to-" she finally looks up and spots Mack and Emily. A smile the likes of which Ivan has never seen grace her face before pulls her lips up. "Guys, you're here!"

"We told you we were coming," Mack says, holding out his arms in offer of a hug, and Miss Morgan rushes into his arms. Emily puts her arms around the both of them, squeezing them in a brief hug.

Something pangs in Ivan's heart as he see three Soulmates in a clearly loving, functioning relationship. If he had been born in this time, if he had just been a bit quicker, if Riley and Chase had fallen in love with him there instead of not needing him- that might have been him, Chase, and Riley.

Then Miss Morgan and her Soulmates break apart, and Miss Morgan raises an eyebrow. "What are you two planning on doing here?" she asks. 

"Lady Emily mentioned something about her and Sir Mack being here because of Miss Morgan being busy?" Ivan says. He's been trying to puzzle that one out, but he keeps falling woefully short.

Mack nods. "Thank you, Sir Ivan. We're here to make sure that Kendall takes a break and that all of you, her whole team, do too."

"If there's one thing I learned in my time as a Ranger," Emily continues, "It's that breaks are necessary to keep the stress from overwhelming you. So Sunday, when the museum is closed, we'll all go to the carnival together. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great to me!" Riley says, and Ivan readily echoes his sentiment. Miss Morgan doesn't seem to carry their level of enthusiasm, however.

"There's going to be a charity dance for the museum next weekend," Miss Morgan says, "You all will have a break then."

Ivan recognizes that tone from their museum director; it's the tone that brokers no argument. No member of the team is able to argue with Miss Morgan when she uses that tone.

Mack and Emily, however, don't seem to understand that. (Or if they do, they're willfully ignoring the truth.} "Nope," Emily says, "We haven't been on a date in months, ever since you started the team, and going on two in a week shouldn't be too much of a problem for a woman as capable as you."

Ivan nearly smiles. Well, Mack and Emily may both seem so optimistic and, well, _smiley_ is the best way to put it, unlike the rather serious Miss Morgan, but they definitely have her stubbornness.

"If you two agree to help setup and clean-up the museum for next weekend's dance, then I'll do it," Miss Morgan says, not seeming to soften, but her eyes are warm.

Emily grins and exchanges a look with Mack. "We'll do it, as long as we each get a kiss right now."

"That seems a bit unbalanced, doesn't it?" Miss Morgan asks, "I think I need a kiss, too."

"Something like that could be arranged," Mack answers back, and Ivan recognizes their interactions as being similar to what Chase and Riley refer to as "flirting," a necessary part of a modern Soulmate relationship.

Then a few quick kisses are exchanged, and Ivan decides to take his leave to go back to work. As he passes by Riley, though, he notices the man's excitement. "You ready to go see a carnival?" Riley asks, and Ivan can hardly resists the anticipation in Riley's voice.

"I'm always ready to try new things, Sir Riley," Ivan says with a small smile.

-

At the carnival, it's almost too easy for Koda to find out that he is Prince Phillip's Soulmate.

-

They arrive at the carnival and someone taps Shelby's shoulder. She swings around to see a familiar looking man in a hoodie, jeans, and black sneakers, beanie perched on top of bangs that are brushed forward over his face to the point where they brush the top of a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. It take a good half a minute for her to put together his identity, and that only happens once he opens his mouth to speak.

"Recognize me?" Phillip asks.

"Of course," Ivan says, "You are my liege, sire," and Koda nods.

"You are just in...different clothing, Prince," Koda says, smile wide, and Shelby definitely picks up on the way Prince Phillip's smile goes a bit soft when Koda says that. "Why we not recognize you?"

"Good point, Koda," Prince Phillip says, completely sincere.

"Wait a moment," Emily says, swinging her and Ms. Morgan's clasped hands. "Is this your Graphite Ranger, Kendall?"

"The Prince of Zandar?" Mack adds, and Ms. Morgan nods.

"Prince Phillip," Ms. Morgan says, "Meet Mack Hartford and Emily Allen Mori, my Soulmates."

Prince Phillip's smile shifts- it's not as soft as it was with Koda, but it is still rather courteous. "Nice to meet you, sir and ma'am," Phillip says.

"My pleasure," Emily says with a slight bow, and Mack nods. Ivan looks slightly affronted at the lack of courtesy Mack is showing, his eyes practically boring a hole into Mack's head, and Shelby stifles a small snort of laughter. Ivan is still so focused on some of his time's social practices and etiquette, especially revolving around the monarchy, and sometimes he doesn't seem to realize just how much everything has changed.

"So Koda," Phillip says in that stiff yet somehow charming way of his, focusing his attention on his Soulmate. "Would you like to go adventure through this carnival with me?"

Koda grins. "Sure, Phillip."

And then they head off, and Shelby has to blink twice to make sure she's not imagining the fact that Phillip has reached out and grabbed Koda's hand.

Shelby and Riley exchange a look before Shelby turns and smiles at her Soulmate. "Ty, you want to go find the most vomit-inducing ride here and ride it as many times as possible?"

Tyler grins. "Sounds like fun to me," he says, taking her hand, and then they head off.

"Well," Riley says, turning to Ivan and Chase once everyone else is gone, "Since Miss Morgan and her Soulmates are off on their own already, Phillip and Koda are doing their thing, and Shelby and Tyler are off hitting every high-adrenaline ride they can find, Ivan- do you want to hang out with us?"

"Are you sure that I won't be imposing?" Ivan asks.

Chase shakes his head. "No, this'll be fun, trust us. We'll show you around. It'll be fun showing you everything in the carnival."

"Well, if you two insist, then I would be honored to accompany you around this carnival, though I do find it lacking in greased pigs."

Riley laughs and starts to head off in a direction he seems to have already picked out. Chase just tosses Ivan an amused smile before following his Soulmate, and Ivan smiles softly before following in suit.

-

Hanging out with Ivan is honestly a lot of fun. Chase hasn't really gotten to spend a lot of time with the knight outside of training and work, and it's pretty fun to see the knight's reaction to anything from this time. The knight seems to really enjoy anything and everything new, and to see that level of wonder, of excitement- it's pretty energizing, if Chase is honest.

He also can't deny the fact that Riley's really bloody good at carnival games. He's winning stuffed animals left and right, his aim and logic extremely good. It's honestly entertaining to see just how far Riley can go, just how many games he can win.

(And Chase is also not gonna deny that Riley's face of concentration is pretty hot as well.)

Riley hands Chase most of them (to the point where Chase strips his hoodie off to wrap up the animals and make them easier to carry), but at one game, Riley fixes his eye on a small stuffed horse and hits three separate bullseyes to deliver the stuffed animal into Ivan's arms.

"For the brave knight," Riley says with a mischievous smile, and Ivan's eyes are wide.

"For me?" He asks, voice a bit shocked, and Riley nods.

"Gift from our time," Riley says. 

“Give it a name,” Chase says, “It's tradition.”

Ivan gives him a questioning smile. "What are all of your animals' names, Chase?"

"Well, that's easy," Chase says, gesturing to each one with a crooked smile. This is a sort of game that he and Riley developed the last time they went to a carnival, when Riley had told Chase that he could win every game and Chase had doubted him. Riley had told him that every stuffed animal he won, he had to name, and Chase had agreed with a shrug, not having expected the sheer number of stuffed animals Riley would win. "They're Ozzy the Octopus, Sydney the Snake, Kiwi the Koala, Rubik the Dog, and the little itty bitty bear is named Winny the Pooh."

"That's a strange name for a bear," Ivan says, brow furrowed, and his confusion is kind of cute. 

"It's a reference to a children's show," Riley says, and Ivan blinks at them but still nods.

“Well, I shall name this horse Mary, as was the name of my mare back home,” Ivan declares, but the official nature of the announcement is somewhat ruined by the way he is kind of cuddling Mary in his arms.

“Your horse back in Zandar?” Chase asks, and Ivan nods.

“She was a bit older than most other warhorses, but she was dependable and strong. It is somewhat sad to know what she is long gone by this age."

"Well, you have us now," Riley says, giving Ivan's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and Ivan smiles at him. In this moment, Chase gets a little distracted by Ivan's smile, at the curve of his lips and the way his eyes brighten. "And I'm sorry for your loss, but I hope you're happy here."

Ivan looks between them, grin growing even brighter, and he nods. "Of course I am happy here in your time, Sir Riley."

Then they go through a couple more games, Riley picking up a few more stuffed animals as he goes, but once Riley has exhausted damn near every game in the carnival, he turns to them and asks, "So, who's hungry?"

Chase grins. "You know me, love- I'm a growing man. I'm always up for food."

Riley rolls his eyes at his Soulmate while Ivan says, "If you would like sustenance, Sir Riley, then I am more than happy to eat."

Riley looks around, eyes alighting on a food truck nearby, and Chase's gaze follows his. "Should we show Ivan funnel cakes, Chase?" Riley's green eyes are sparkling with excitement, and for a moment Chase gets distracted by the curve of his smile. He doesn't know how he so easily forgets just how captivating Riley's happiness is, just how much Chase wants to pull him into a kiss.

"Are they a foodstuff as delicious as soda or burgers, Sir Chase?" Ivan asks, and Chase tears his eyes away from his Soulmate, instead resting them on his friend.

Chase nods. "Even better. I had them for the first time a month after I first moved here, and they are pretty bloody good."

"Then let us try them, Sir Riley," Ivan says, turning to Riley, and Ivan appreciates his willingness to try something on just Chase's recommendation.

But before they head up to the food truck, Riley, the ever-logical, stops and looks to Ivan.

"Do you want to take off your jacket, Ivan?" Riley asks, "You'll probably get powdered sugar all over it."

"We could use it to carry Chase's animals, as well," Ivan agrees. "Sir Chase, would you like to transfer all the animals to my jacket?"

"Only if I'll be carrying them," Chase says, "I couldn't ask you to carry them all, mate."

Ivan looks like he wants to protest- probably something about chivalry or something. "You sure you won't mind, Sir Chase?"

"I'm the one volunteering, aren't I?" Chase points out, and Ivan nods.

"Fair point, good sir." Then Ivan slips his fingers into the sleeves of his coat and pulls the sleeves of his shirt a little further out, making sure his Soulmarks are completely covered. Then he carefully slips off his coat, maneuvering it around Mary, and drapes it over his arm, revealing the white shirt underneath.

It's a bit startling to see Ivan without the coat on. Chase can see the shape of his shoulders and his arms without the coat on, really see everything that the shapeless coat obscures about his body. It turns out that Ivan looks rather nice in the white button-down that he's wearing today.

Then Chase sits down on a nearby bench, depositing his hoodie full of animals on the seat next to him. Ivan offers him his coat and Chase gingerly drapes it over his lap, making sure that Ivan's coat doesn't hit the bench, and then transfers all of the animals over. "You want me to put Mary in here too?" Chase offers, and Ivan glances down at the stuffed animal under his arm before nodding and handing it over to Chase, who adds it to the pile and then carefully wrapping the whole package up.

"Alright," Riley says once Chase has his bundle held in his arms, "Funnel cakes, then?"

"Of course, Sir Riley," Ivan agrees. 

-

When they all meet up again that afternoon for a late lunch, Ivan's gaze alights on the fact that Phillip and Koda are- to his complete and utter shock-  _holding hands._

“Prince is my Soulmate, guys!” Koda says, grin wide, and Phillip's brilliant smile matches his.

“Congratulations, sire!” Ivan says, “Koda is a strong warrior and good soul. He'll serve you well as your Consort."

Phillip gives Ivan a strange look. "Consort?" He says the word as if it's a curiosity that he knows the meaning of, but is still confused as to why Ivan is using it. And that puzzles Ivan slightly. After all, though Zandarian royalty married for alliances during Ivan's time, within the castle the Soulmates of Zandarian royalty- when kept and not Rejected outright- were treated as just as important as Zandarian consorts. 

“Prince Phillip, I thought you said you would have to wait,” Riley says, not picking up on the strangeness of the Prince's response, and Ivan looks to him in surprise. Riley knew that Prince Phillip and Koda are Soulmates?

“The politics of it all have mostly been sorted through back home,” the Prince says, "But when it's finished Koda can be my Husband."

This doesn't seem like anything strange to the other Rangers, but Ivan's brow furrows. "Husband? But royal Soulmates don't marry into the royal line."

"Things have changed since your time, Ivan," Riley explains, "Science has found ways that same-sex Soulmates can have kids without having to have sex with a member of the opposite sex. Thus, royalty can marry their Soulmates without having to worry about an heir."

Ivan raises an eyebrow. That's such a strange concept to him. A way to have children without sex? Do they adopt orphans? Do the masses just accept whatever heir or ward their royalty names? "And what about alliances?" he asks.

"Royalty have a far lower level of power in government nowadays," Ms. Morgan says. "The need for alliances is made by treaties between parliaments, not between royalty themselves."

Ivan nods. If royalty occupy less importance nowadays, then that does make some level of sense.

 

They continue to eat and talk, swapping stories about their adventures here throughout the day, before finishing their meal. Then after they finish eating, Koda gets up first. "Prince and I will meet you back at base," he says, "We going to have some talk time."

Miss Morgan nods. "You have the keys to the base, Koda- we'll probably be back in a few hours."

"You're gonna let us ditch for that much longer?" Emily asks, smile mischievous, and Miss Morgan rolls her eyes.

"Of course I will, honey," Miss Morgan says, dropping a quick kiss to the tip of Emily's nose, and Ivan can't deny how in love they are. He catches the fond smile on Mack's face as he looks at them as he's eating the last bite of his fries, and Ivan hopes that he doesn't betray such obvious feelings when he's watching Chase and Riley.

Then Chase speaks. "Hey, Koda," he says, "Do you mind taking this bundle back with you?"

Koda's brow furrows as he looks at the parcel in Chase's arms. "Ivan jacket?"

Chase nods. "And a bunch of stuffed animals Riley won." He looks to Ivan as if for permission to give his coat away, and Ivan nods. "You can just sit in on the bench back in the base."

Phillip nods to him. "We'll take good care of your belongings, my good man," he says. Koda nods excitedly and scoops the bundle from Chase's arms. They then head off to somewhere, talking the whole time.

Tyler turns to Shelby. "Ready for some more rides?"

"Never heard such a romantic suggestion in my life, Ty," Shelby says with a smile. She glances just briefly back at the group still at the table. "You all good?"

Ivan nods and the couple take off.

"Ready for a hour or two more of exploring?" Chase asks, eyes dark and adventurous, and he's not Ivan's Soulmate to claim, Ivan is all too aware, but he is still as intoxicating as if he were.

"Always," Riley says with a smile, "Especially since we don't have that bundle to carry anymore." And Riley's smile, though not quite so dangerous, is just as mesmerizing as Chase's. Then Riley looks back at Ivan. "You ready to go?"

Ivan swallows back his surprise- he'd figured that Riley and Chase would want the afternoon to themselves- and nods. He glances back at Miss Morgan, Emily, and Mack. "Are you all okay if we take our leave?"

Mack waves a hand. "Have fun," he says, smile bright, and Miss Morgan nods as well.

So Ivan, Riley, and Chase leave, heading off to the next carnival stop.

-

Ivan, Chase, and Riley don't get too far after lunch- just one ride crammed onto the ferris wheel- before they encounter a musician sitting on the sidewalk, finishing off a song that Riley only vaguely recognizes.

Ivan begins to hum along, to Riley's slight surprise, and then he asks, "What does that young lady do?"

"She's a street musician," Riley explains, "She makes money by playing songs that people request."

"Interesting," Ivan says before he steps forward, a five dollar bill clutched in hand, and walks over to the musician, who is currently adjusting her guitar in between songs. He bends over to speak to her, and they can see her smile and nod at whatever he's suggested. Then Ivan steps back and the woman begins to strum. Then Ivan opens his mouth.

_Tender is the night_

_Lying by your side_

_Tender is the touch_

_Of someone that you love too much_

Now, Chase has a number of talents, but Riley can say for a fact that music is not one of them, no matter how much he sings in the shower. Riley is completely willing to admit that about himself as well, when he's being honest.

Ivan, on the other hand- 

"Holy shit," Riley mutters, "Ivan can really sing."

"Got that right," Chase says, unable to tear his eyes away as Ivan sings, a slight smile on his face despite the certain note of melancholy to the way Ivan is singing the lyrics.

_Tender is my heart you know_

_I'm screwing up my life_

_Oh Lord I need to find_

_Someone who can heal my mind_

As Ivan sings to the guitar player's music, the emotion in the lyrics, melody, and Ivan's voice hits something in Riley's chest, crawling under his skin a bit. The song is absolutely gorgeous, with the lyrics a clear love confession to someone who doesn't feel the same way as Ivan. Ivan's voice is nothing dramatic, neither are the musician's chords, but the song is as haunting as it is beautiful in its simplicity.

Riley can feel his grip in Chase's tightening slightly as they sway to the song, an almost visceral need to reassure himself that Chase is here, that the sorrow in Ivan's voice isn't touching him.

_Oh my baby_

_Oh my baby_

_Oh why_

_Oh my_  

The knot in Riley's chest melts as the song continues further and he focuses on the smile on Ivan's lips, the fact that though the lyrics and his tone are semi-melancholic, he really seems to be enjoying himself. No matter the bad emotions wrapped up in the song, he is finding some pleasure or fulfillment in his singing.

And Riley's glad. He doesn't want his teammate- his  _friend_ \- sad. He much prefers Ivan happy, or at least content, in his life here in their time.

_Come on, Come on, Come on_

_Love's the greatest thing_

_That we have_

_I'm waiting for that feeling_

_Waiting for that feeling to come_

Then the song ends, Ivan's voice and the guitar chords fading away into nothing, and Riley releases Chase's hand so that he can applaud. Next to him, Chase is doing the same thing, as are a few people who stopped to watch.

Ivan doesn't seem to notice any of that, though. "Thank you, my kind lady," he says as he steps back from the musician, then hands over all of the change he has left in his pockets. Riley and Chase do the same, and now the street musician is a good fifteen bucks richer.

"Come back anytime, boys," the musician says with a smile. "Especially you, young man," she says, pointing at Ivan. "You've got some talent on you."

Ivan seems a bit surprised, but Chase and Riley aren't. "Thank you again, milady," Ivan says, and the woman nods.

"You too, man. Have a good day, and thanks for the tips."

"No problem," Chase says to the woman as Riley adds, "It was our pleasure."

"Where did you learn that song?" Riley asks Ivan the instant they're out of earshot, and he raises an eyebrow.

"Lady Shelby plays it quite often when her playlist isn't N-Zed but instead that thing known as 'Britpop,'" Ivan answers, "And it is in that movie I like, the one about the Southland."

Riley barely recognized the song from Shelby's playlist even after Ivan mentioned it, much less know what movie Ivan is talking about, so he's just going to take the knight's word for it. "Well, it was beautiful," Riley says, and if he's not mistaken Ivan is  _blushing_.

"You think so?" Ivan asks, and Chase nods.

"It was pretty gorgeous, mate. Just wondering, though- were you singing to anyone?" There's a faraway look in Ivan's eyes when he nods. 

"Who was it?" Riley says.

Ivan looks between the two of them, something strange passing over his expression. "My Soulmate," he says, voice a bit strained, and something in Riley's heart goes out to him. To be unwanted by his Soulmate, when Ivan clearly loves them with everything he has (as going by the song), is something Riley can barely imagine. It must be hell itself, a fate he wouldn't wish on his worst enemies, much less a friend as close as Ivan. "It was for them."

Chase's face is a bit angry when he stops walking and says, "They don't deserve you, mate."

Ivan freezes as well and raises an eyebrow, shock clear on his face. Riley stops walking, pausing next to them. "What?"

"Your Soulmate, whoever they are- they don't deserve you. You're a great guy with a lot of talent and heart, and if they rejected you and made you feel that way- they don't deserve your love."

"Feel what way?" Ivan asks.

"You were clearly somewhat sad when singing that song, Ivan," Riley answers. "Your tone and the melody weren't exactly something entirely happy."

Ivan swallows. "That's a bit personal," he says, an edge to his tone, "But to be honest, as you all say, I love my Soulmate, and their rejection is still something I'm feeling the pain of. Not being able to be with them- that's something I'm dealing with. And the song's lyrics meant something to me, yes." Then he smiles, and Riley's relieved to watch the pain fall from Ivan's face. "But let us focus on the good things, right, Sir Riley? We were having fun before Soulmates were mentioned. Let us continue our adventures."

Chase places a hand on Ivan's shoulder as they start to walk again. "You know we love you, right, mate? You're one of our best friends."

"I'm glad to know that, Sir Chase," Ivan says, smile bright. 

Then they head off further into the carnival, and the song mostly slips away from Riley, though the melody and lyrics occasionally reappear throughout the rest of the afternoon.

-

When they get back from the carnival that night, Ivan ducks into his room and sets Mary at the end of his cot. Then he comes back out to join the rest of the room, which is full of laughter and conversation from the team and their Soulmates.

He then pulls out his sword to train as this  _is_ the base, after all, and he's spent the whole day taking his leisure. It's time to get back to the important work, such as preparing to defend the world from Sledge and his criminals.

The realization hits him in a savage way, deep inside of his chest. He’s surrounded by happily Bonded couples- Shelby and Tyler, Riley and Chase, Koda and Phillip. Even Miss Morgan's Soulmates are sitting by the counter, watching her work on the Zords with sappy smiles on their faces, occasionally offering up questions or words of encouragement. He is the only one alone, the only Unbonded, the only Unrequited.

His fingers clench around the hilt of his sword as he hacks away at the dummy. He is the last and only Uncompleted one left, and he's going to stay that way for the rest of his life. He thought that he had accepted it, but to have it reaffirmed like this is like a knife to the heart.

When everyone starts yawning, Miss Morgan starts helping everyone else off to their various nights. She deposits an extra cot in blankets in Koda's cave, and Phillip and Koda duck into the room. Prince Phillip had made no complaint about the less-than-luxurious living conditions, instead just smiling at Koda as they head off.

Then Chase and Riley leave to head back to their apartment, Tyler offering a ride with him and Shelby in the jeep so they don't have to walk the half mile to the bus stop and then take the half-hour bus ride back to their place.

(As Ivan watches them go, some part of his heart goes with him. He wishes he knew what his Soulmates' home was like, the way they live outside of the museum.)

And soon enough, it's just Miss Morgan, Mack, Emily, and Ivan in the base, and within half an hour Miss Morgan and her Soulmates are calling it quits as well.

"You're good for the night, Sir Ivan?" Emily asks, and Ivan nods.

"Of course I am," he says, "I sleep here every night." 

Something goes a bit dark in her gaze and he's not sure why. She nods, though, and he gives her a small bow.

"Goodnight, Lady Emily," he says, then turns to her other two Soulmates. "Good night, Miss Morgan, Sir Mack."

"Good night to you too, Sir Ivan," Mack says as Ivan takes his leave, entering his room with a small wave goodbye. There are a few bustling noises beyond the partition between his room and the main base for a few minutes, and then silence pretty much falls.

He lets out a small breath. Time for bed.

-

An hour later, Ivan rolls over in bed, unable to sleep. Something about the day is leading him into restlessness, leaving him exhausted but with eyes unable to completely close.

He picks up Mary and pulls her into his arms, tucking her against his chest. There is something comforting about curling up with another being, something that makes him feel at least a little less lonely. He thinks of Riley and Chase, almost assuredly sharing a bed in their apartment. He thinks what it would be like to fall asleep not with a small, fluffy toy beside him, but with his Soulmates in the same bed.

He almost aches with how much he wants that- the warmth of Riley and Chase curled around him, the weight of his Soulmates' arms around him. He knows that he'll never get it. 

The lyrics of the song he sang earlier burn through his brain, their soft melody almost taunting him.  _"Tender is the night, lying by your side- tender is the touch of somebody that you love too much_?" He will never know that. He is going to spend the rest of his life sleeping in a bed by himself, never knowing another man’s loving touch, never knowing love- 

Ivan falls asleep with the backs of his eyes burning with unshed tears, his heart breaking in his chest.

-

“Chase?” Riley asks that night, laying in their bed. They are lying on their sides facing each other, free arms around each other's waists. Their noses are just a hair's breath away from touching, and Riley can feel Chase's warm breath against his skin.

“Yeah, love?” Chase asks, halfway to sleep.

“Does it ever feel like there's something...off balance about our bed?”

“Yeah, sometimes,” Chase mumbles, and Riley sees that his eyes are closed.

"It's the missing soulmate, isn't it?" Riley says, "He hasn't written to us since that day."

Chase nods, nose brushing against Riley's. "You're worrying too much."

"Haven't you wondered about him at all?" Riley asks. "Like thinking about what he's like?"

"A little, I guess," Chase says, "But I haven't really been dwelling on it too much. We've got a long time before we might meet him, right?"

"What?" Riley asks.

"Well, we're immortal, and he just wrote to us. Who knows if he's our age and just hasn't written yet, or if he's a kid and we'll meet him in ten, twenty years?"

Well, shit. That's definitely a sobering thought. With their Energems, who knows when their lives will meet up with their Soulmate?

Something crawls through Riley's heart and he's suddenly viciously happy that he managed to find Chase with such ease. With Energems and immortality at play, who knows how long he could have had to wait to meet even one of his Soulmates? It could have been upward of nine hundred years, just like Ivan and his Soulmate.

Then he takes a deep breath, calming his pounding heart. They're already fighting monsters and risking their lives on a regular basis- there's no need to add extra worry to the mess. Instead, he focuses on the optimistic, the silver lining. No need to focus on the possibly terrifying, not when he's here, cuddling with his wonderful Soulmate.

"Well, whenever we meet him, he's probably allosexual,"  Riley says, "That'll have its benefits."

Chase's eyes widen just slightly. "You know I'm just fine with our relationship the way it is, right?"

Riley rolls his eyes. "Of course I do. I just think it'll be nice if you can get a bit more mutual satisfaction and not just some masturbation."

"That's rather nice of you," Chase says, eyes falling shut again, and Riley rests his forehead against Chase's.

"No problem," Riley says, "Anything that makes you happy, I want for us."

"I don't deserve you, you great guy," Chase says.

"That's always what a guy wants to hear his Soulmate call him," Riley says with a small smile.

"You know me," Chase says, cuddling close as his eyes screw shut, "Always suave."

"That's one word to describe you," Riley says, tone amused as Chase's body relazes against his own, Chase clearly exhausted.

He almost thinks that Chase has fully fallen asleep when Chase speaks up one last time, his voice slurring as it dips into sleep. "You know- our Soulmate? I kinda wish it was Ivan."

"He's got his own Soulmate," Riley says, but Chase is already asleep, curled like a koala around Riley's body, so Riley just smiles fondly, kisses Chase's forehead gently, and closes his eyes.

-

The next day finds Ivan, Chase, Riley, and Shelby on shift, with Ivan and Shelby as waiters and Riley and Chase in the kitchen.

Before he starts, though, Ivan stops by the kitchen to speak to Riley.

"Thank you again for the stuffed animal, Sir Riley," Ivan says, and he smiles at Riley, wide and genuine. "Twas a wonderful gift."

"No problem, man," Riley says, and something in Ivan's face goes a bit sharp, a bit painful.

Riley frowns a little as they all move onto their jobs for the shift. He wonders why Ivan seems off this morning- Riley really enjoyed hanging out with Ivan yesterday, winning Ivan that stuffed animal and watching as Ivan had gotten powdered sugar down his shirt and pants. He remembers laughing with Ivan and Chase yesterday, dancing as Ivan sang, really enjoying their time at the carnival together.

Perhaps Ivan slept wrong?

Either way, Riley finds himself just a little distracted by the vague memory of the last thing Chase said before falling asleep last night. It's not a thought that really deserves to be dwelt upon (the fantasy of Ivan as their Soulmate), as it's so clearly not true, but it is certainly an interesting thought to occasionally let Riley's thoughts touch and linger on.

-

Later that day, Chase finds himself distracted by Riley and Ivan training. That in itself is nothing strange (he's often distracted by Riley during training, because Chase's Soulmate is a wonder to behold), but the reasoning behind his distraction is a bit strange. It's not just Riley today-it's the look of concentration on Ivan's face, the clean line of his swings, the warmth in his smile-

 _I wish Ivan was our Soulmate,_ Chase finds himself thinking even in his sober, awake state, and it feels like a betrayal to the unnamed Soulmate on the other side of the Marks, but the idea is just a little too perfect.

Ivan said his Soulmate doesn't want him, and he and Riley can't get ahold of their Soulmate, no matter how many times they've Marked questions across their forearms- maybe the three of them could have something, someday.

After all, even if Chase and Riley find their Soulmate (and that's a big  _if_ )- who knows how long they'll be bonded to their Energems? Someday, their Soulmate will die, and Ivan will still be there.

And maybe then, the three of them might be able to work something out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *goes back and reads chapter when I'm done writing*  
> Wait a moment- did I just write their first date without any of them or me realizing it? Oops.


	8. no "who cares?", no vacant stare (no time for me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is so weird going from watching R.P.M. for fanfic research to watching Dino Charge. I love the characters in Dino Charge a lot, don't get me wrong, but the plot...it's definitely a bit lacking. Well, hopefully this story has a bit more plot than the show, eh?
> 
> (Also, did anyone notice that Colonel Truman and Shelby's dad are played by the same guy? Like, what the fuck? Now I kinda want to write a fic where Shelby and Scott are cousins or even siblings, but that's for another day.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Ivan and Chase dance to is "Work Song" by Hozier, while the one that Riley and Ivan dance to is "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran (the second of which just really fits Ivan throughout this fic in general).
> 
> Also, watch Ivan steadily developing a pattern of anxiety attacks that I'm not going to officially address until the epilogue. It's lots of fun (except, not for him).

The morning after the carnival begins before any of the other Rangers even arrive to the base. Ivan is the first one up, as usual, and he runs through his morning exercises before Koda gets up.

Then Prince Phillip emerges from Koda's cave, hair somehow perfectly brushed and suit polished- despite the fact that he entered the cave yesterday in his disguise. 

"Good morning, Your Highness," Ivan says, halting in his training to bow to Prince Phillip.

"Good morning, Sir Ivan," Prince Phillip replies as Koda emerges from his cave behind the Prince.

"Hello, Prince," Koda says with a brilliant grin, and the Prince smiles as he turns to see his Soulmate.

"I am sorry to say that I have to leave now, love," Prince Phillip says, "But I will come back for the weekend," Prince Phillip says, "And attend this dance with you, Koda, if you'd like?"

There is something uncertain in Prince Phillip's eyes, something vulnerable and kind, and Ivan's chest seizes in ugly, dishonorable jealousy. Despite his promise to defend his Prince and his Soulmate, there is no denying the fact that he still wants a relationship like this for himself.

Koda nods. "I want you back, Prince," he says. "But you go now to your home."

"Then I shall go," Prince Phillip says, taking Koda's hand in his, and despite the ugly feeling in his chest Ivan does have to smile at Koda's obvious happiness. He's quite joyful that his teammate is happy. "May I give you a kiss before you go?"

"I would...like that, Prince," Koda says, and Prince Phillip leans in and presses a small, gentle kiss to Koda's cheek. The smile on his face when he leans back is small but blinding in its fondness.

"I shall see you soon, love," Prince Phillip says to Koda, and the caveman smiles back.

"See you at party," Koda says, and the Prince nods before turning and leaving.

"I shall see you next weekend, Sir Ivan," Prince Phillip says courteously to Ivan as he passes by, and Ivan gives him a small bow in return.

"I anxiously await your return, Your Highness," Ivan says.

And then it's just Koda and Ivan, as usual.

"Let us train, Sir Koda," Ivan says, and Koda grins at him.

"Sound fun!" Koda says, pulling his blaster out of nowhere. 

- 

The day passes without much strange happening. There are no monster attacks, no insane customers- just a few conversations between coworkers, a small thank you from Ivan to Riley, and some training in the afternoon.

It's almost...what's the word Shelby used the other day when talking about her family? Domestic? Yes, that's the word- domestic. It feels domestic.

It's a different sort of normal than Ivan lived back in Zandar, but it's a kind of normal he feels comfortable in. He feels almost like he belongs in this time, despite its strangeness. 

And Ivan really likes it.

 -

"So," Riley says as soon as they get back to their apartment that night, "You wanna talk about what you said last night?"

Chase raises an eyebrow as he grabs the milk out of the fridge. "What'd I say last night?" He asks, nonchalant. "Sorry, love, I was bloody exhausted."

"You said that you wished Ivan was our Soulmate," Riley says, pulling down a cup from the cupboard and holding it out to Chase.

"I did?" Chase asks, but his tone is not one of total disbelief. He takes the cup and says, "Thanks," then pours his milk. "You want some?"

Riley shakes his head. "No thanks, I'm good." As Chase returns the milk to the fridge, Riley continues with, "Yeah, you did, as you were falling asleep."

"Well, it would be nice, don't you think?" Chase asks, sitting down at their kitchen counter. They don't have a table in their small living room and kitchen, instead using a trunk for a coffee table in front of the sofa and three stools at the counter. (Before they found out about their Soulmate, there had only been two stools at the counter. The week after they'd found out about their Soulmate, though, they'd visited a local thrift store and picked up that final stool. For the past couple of months, it has sat waiting for their third Soulmate to show up.) "Not the whole being our Soulmate thing- that's impossible and stupid, I was tired- but I can't deny that he's attractive. And, you know, he's a great guy."

Riley sits down next to Chase as Chase takes a sip of his milk. "That makes some sense. I mean, no offense, Chase, but...I do like him. At least, the idea of him. As a friend."

That's strange. Chase could have sworn that Riley liked Ivan. They seem to be getting along well enough, surely, don't they? What's with the hesitation, the distance?

"Well, I like Ivan as a person," Chase says, and Riley raises an eyebrow at him, something small shifting in his expression, his brow furrowing just a little. If Chase was analyzing his expression, he'd have to say that something's making Riley anxious or uncomfortable.

Wait a moment...why would this conversation be making Riley anxious?They're both poly- they have a third Soulmate out there. Chase liking another guy shouldn't be that strange.

"But he has a Soulmate, and so do we," Riley says, "There's no reason for us to like him back."

Oh, _that's_ Riley's issue. It's not that he doesn't like Ivan- it's that liking Ivan is wrong when he's not their Soulmate. Chase liking Ivan seems like a threat to their relationship. Well, that is  _never_ going to be the issue, not for Chase- there is no way liking anyone else could replace or even remotely diminish his love for Riley.

"Riley..." Chase says, reaching out a hand to Riley's arm. "You know I love you, right?"

Riley nods, a small, fond smile curving his lips. "Of course I do."

"And that liking Ivan isn't going to change that in the least?"

Riley purses his lips. "It's just..." He sighs. "Well, okay, I like him too, I'll admit. But he's not ours. He's not our Soulmate. And it's not like he's Soulless, either. We're all meant to be with someone else, so it doesn't matter."

Chase nods. "I know. Liking Ivan doesn't have to change things at all. We can just continue on our way, wait for our Soulmate to respond, not do a thing. But getting it out in the open and talking about it...that's healthy, right? Communicating, talking- that's what we should do, to keep up an honest relationship and everything."

Riley grins. "You're right."

"Well," Chase says, arching an eyebrow with a teasing lilt to his voice, "I  _am_ occasionally right."

Riley rolls his eyes. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

Chase tilts back his cup and drains the last of his milk. "Oh, I know, don't worry."

Riley smiles fondly at him. "You've got a milk mustache, you know."

"Guess you'll just have to get rid of it for me, won't you?" Chase says, raising an eyebrow suggestively, and Riley's smiles shifts into a mischevious grin.

"Guess I'm gonna have to," Riley says, and then leans in and captures Chase's lips in his.

-

There's a monster attack the next day, and so much for peace and quiet. For a couple of days they could pretend to be normal co-workers and friends who just happen to have gems around their necks and a Prince as a friend, but now it's back to business as usual.

This monster doesn't seem too intimidating, its only enhancement a pair of particularly strong blades, but the fight with it does lead to a rather interesting development for Ivan.  

He is fighting in battle, just as he normally does, focusing on taking down Vivex while the core five Rangers take on the monster, when suddenly he finds himself with the green and black rangers on either side, flanking him just like any set of soulmates would in battle.  

"Though you could use the help, mate," Chase calls out as he blasts a Vivex right over Ivan's shoulder, and Ivan grins behind his helmet as they all fall into a steady rhythm, the three of them taking down the Vivex twice as fast as it normally would have taken Ivan alone.

It's like every childhood dream of his, every imagining made while training as a squire. Fighting alongside his Soulmates, protecting civilians- it is the highest honor he could ask for.

(Too bad that it has to come with so many restrictions and sad endings.)

The battle ends after the usual fight in the Megazords, and soon enough they're DeMorphed and back on the ground.

Riley claps a hand on Ivan's shoulder. "Nice fighting with you, Ivan," he says, "The three of us did a really good job taking out Vivex together."

There are words that Ivan might have said, but they don't reach his tongue. Instead, he just smiles and says, "Yes, it was an honor to fight Vivex alongside two brave warriors such as you and Sir Chase."

- 

"Do you have clothing for the dance, Ivan?" Emily asks a few afternoons later as Ivan is hanging up his apron after his shift.

"I only have my usual clothing, Lady Emily. What would you recommend I wear for this dance?"

"I recommend you let me take you shopping," Emily says, and Ivan raises an eyebrow.

"What about Lady Shelby?" he asks, "She has been the one to help me with my clothing so far. We should not leave Lady Shelby behind if she would like to attend."

Emily smiles. "She can come with. The more the merrier, after all."

-

So as a result, Shelby finds herself at the mall a few hours later, supporting her knightly friend in an attempt to find modern-day clothing for a dance probably a hell of a lot different than any he attended back in the medieval era.

Shelby can't help to notice a certain strange tick to Emily's conversations with Ivan, though, one that nags at her until it's all she can think about. 

So while Ivan's in the changing room with approximately half of the blazers in the store, Shelby turns to Emily. "You know something, don't you?"

"Something about what?" Emily asks, raising an eyebrow, but she can't keep the smile off of her face.

"About Chase and Riley. You keep giving Ivan suggestive looks whenever they're mentioned."

Emily nods. "Yeah, I'll admit it. I know they're Soulmates."

Shelby's jaw drops. She thought that Ivan had only told her that. "How do you know?"

"Kendall figured it out."

" _Miss Morgan_ figured it out?"

Emily shrugs. "My Soulmate's an intelligent woman, Shelby, not unlike yourself."

"Well, Ivan doesn't really want to discuss his Soulmates, Emily," Shelby says, "So if you don't mind-"

Ivan steps out of the changing room, interrupting their conversation, and Shelby likes the fit of the pants and the suspenders over the button down, but the red suit jacket just doesn't suit him. Maybe black or green or...fuck, she knows what her brain is doing.

"Do you think Chase and Riley would like the jacket, Shelby?" Emily says with a knowing smile, discarding any pretense of subtlety, and Ivan doesn't seem to notice the comment at first as he's busy smoothing out the sleeves of the blazer.

Then Shelby watches as he processes what Emily said. "Wait a moment...Lady Emily, did you just ask if Sir Chase and Sir Riley would like my jacket?"

Emily nods, smile clear, and his eyes go wide. "Why would you ask me such a question?"

And it's so clear that he's trying to be casual but Ivan  _fails_ at casual, and Shelby has to wonder how no one else on their team has picked up on the fact that he's heads over heels in love with Chase and Riley. Ivan doesn't know the meaning of the word subtlety, after all.

"I know you're Soulmates," Emily says bluntly, and when Ivan turns to look at Shelby with wide eyes, Emily explains, "Shelby didn't tell me about it. Kendall figured out that you were their Soulmate and that you thought you were an Unrequited, and I told her I wanted to help you."

"But I'm an Unrequited," Ivan argues, "There's nothing to help me with, Lady Emily."

"I don't believe in Unrequiteds," Emily says, and she's no longer the gentle, smiley girl that Shelby's gotten to know over the past week. No, this Emily is a Ranger with a spine of steel. No wonder her element as a Ranger was earth- she can't be moved. "I've witnessed a good number of Soulmate relationships on my team that all had their problems but all ended up working out. Kendall respects your decision to not talk to your Soulmates, but since I think it's a stupid decision, I elected to ignore it. I decided to help how I could- help you go shopping, getting ready for the dance, etc."

Ivan, on the other hand, can't believe what this woman is saying. Not believing in Unrequiteds? The existence of Unrequiteds are a fact of life- how could you not believe in them?

"Ivan," Shelby says, voice quiet and soft as he's rarely heard it, and he turns to her.

"Yes?" he asks, and she points at his wrist. There, inking itself in such a way that half of the last word rolls past the end of his sleeve, is Chase's black Marks.

"You might want to roll your sleeve down a little if you don't want to see it," Shelby says, voice sympathetic.

Emily, on the other hand, has no such sympathy. "What are they saying?" Emily asks, voice eager, but Ivan is frozen. This is why he wears the coat, why he never rolls up his sleeves- so he doesn't have to see the Marks that he'll inevitably lose someday when his Soulmates reject him. His skin will one day go completely bare, no trace of the Soulmates he nearly had. If he keeps his arms always covered up, it's like there's nothing to lose. If he's always alone, then it won't be too big of a difference when he hears those words from Chase and Riley.

"Ivan doesn't look at his Marks," Shelby says, and turns to Emily, fire in her eyes. "And I know that you're Kendall's Soulmate, but I swear to god, if you make him look and he doesn't want to-"

But Ivan's pulling back his sleeve a little, because now he has a morbid curiosity, because he was the idiot who wrote on his arm despite knowing the consequences it would cause. He lacks the amount of self-control necessary to keep his sanity intact, to keep his dreams untroubled.

 _Hey, you out there?_ Chase's black ink marks his skin, handwriting small and a bit messy, and Ivan raises an eyebrow. Why would Chase be wondering where Riley is? Aren't they both supposed to be on a shift right now-?

 _We were wondering if you wanted to talk to us,_ comes Riley's green, sharp handwriting, and Ivan sucks in a sharp breath.

"Those are Chase and Ivan's Marks," Shelby says, voice somewhat shaken. "They're...they're writing to you."

Ivan nods, a lump rising in his throat. Something pricks at the back of his eyes, but it can't be tears. "This is why I don't look. I don't want to see the false hope I've given them."

There's a small noise from Emily, but when Ivan looks up he sees Shelby's hand on Emily's upper arm.

"You don't have to show us anymore," Shelby says, something tender in her voice, and he nods as he rolls his sleeve back up.

"Well, why don't we get on with you a gorgeous outfit for the dance?" Emily asks, voice comforting. "You'll have lots of fun with a new look, even if it has nothing to do with your Soulmates."

Shelby nods. "Don't worry- we'll get you a jacket with sleeves that fully cover your arms, okay?"

Ivan nods. "Thank you. If you two ladies do not mind, I'm going to try another shirt on. I do not believe this one properly suits the pair of trousers you have selected for me."

"See you in a few minutes," Shelby says, and Ivan turns quickly and heads into the changing room. He then closes the door and nearly collapses onto the tiny bench, his chest tightening on him. His heart is beating wildly, his breathing going rapid. He can't breathe or think, his thoughts pounding through his brain in a mass of panic.

The words on his arm are burning his way through his mind.  _We were wondering if you wanted to talk to us_. Oh, he wants, how he wants-

But he can't. He never can. He can't speak to them, he can't tell them, he  _can't breathe-_

Ivan tries to remember Chase's words. _Breathe in, breathe out, match my breathing, Ivan-_

But there's no Chase to match his breathing with. He's just gonna have to figure out on his own how to work his way through (what did Chase call it, again?) a panic attack.

-

Once Ivan is inside the changing room, Shelby pulls Emily over to the side.

"I don't know how you handled things in your team, what happened with all those difficult Soulmate couples you named, but this is my team and I won't let you hurt them, any of them. Ivan's my friend, and yeah, someday, he and Riley and Chase are going to get over their obliviousness and get together, but in the meantime I'm not going to watch Ivan break down.

So, in the nicest possible way, do you mind minding your own business and letting our team deal with our own shit? You're a Ranger, yeah, but your team was yours and this is mine."

Emily's eyes are wide, but she doesn't back down. "The teammates of mine who weren't admitting they were Soulmates- that was a tradition. A tradition that was  _wrong_."

"Well, it's not a bad tradition that's messing with things," Shelby says, "It's misunderstandings and bad perceptions and a bunch of shit I promised I'd let Ivan figure out. And I want him and Chase and Riley to get their shit together, trust me, but not any quicker than Ivan is ready for. Once again, not your team, okay? Please just respect his boundaries."

Emily's expression is still sharp, but she nods. "He is your team member," she concedes, "And I won't do anything you don't think is right. If you tried anything with any of my teammates, after all-"

Shelby smiles. "You'd have full rights to tear my head off."

Emily smiles and stretches out a hand. "Sorry for any damage I might have done in my haste. My techniques may have worked with my idiot boys, but I didn't stop to think that they might not translate properly to yours."

"No problem," Shelby says, reaching out to shake Emily's hand, but Emily bypasses her hand to pull her into a hug. Shelby thinks about the fact that this woman, a few years older than her, tiny and so seemingly delicate, has already fought a war and taken down her Big Bad. She was a Ranger, fought and worried and was broken herself.

Shelby thinks about the fact that Kendall's other Soulmate, Mack, seems even more innocent than Emily does. Shelby remembers being ten-years-old and watching the Operation Overdrive interviews on television. She remembers their Red, so optimistic, so humble, and the fact that he'd been constantly in awe of everything. Years later, he still seems to have that same attitude and energy. Tyler takes after Mack in so many ways- that kindness, that optimism, that humility- and yet he has become a warrior in the fight against Sledge.

Shelby wonders how many lives have been affected by the transition to Rangerhood, the innocence lost, the hope maintained. She wonders if someday after they defeat Sledge, whether or not she'll still be as stubborn and hopeful and curious as she is now. She wonders if she'll be Emily or Mack, or if she'll sink into obscurity like Dax Lo or Dana Mitchell. Will the war ever leave her veins, or will she just learn to accept it and move on?

She snaps back to the situation at hand when Emily pulls away. "You ready to just take the poor guy on a shopping spree now?" Emily asks, and Shelby nods. She's not the biggest fan of shopping on her own, but Ivan (when not dealing with Soulmate issues) makes things kind of priceless with his reactions.

"Let's find him the perfect outfit for the dance."

-

It's Sunday, and the dance is due to start in about half an hour. Ivan picks up his new clothes for the dance off of his bed. These is very different than the traditional clothing he would wear for a masquerade or a dance back in the castle, but that's to be expected with all of the changes between his culture and that of his Soulmates'. His outfit for the dance consists of a black suit jacket, white button down, black slacks, gold skinny tie, and a matching pair of gold suspenders. The sleeves on the jacket and the button down are both long enough to cover all of the skin on his arms, which he appreciates, and it all fits rather well, though a bit tighter than he is used to.

Koda is gone from his room, having left with Prince Phillip a few hours ago to go get ready. Ivan is not particularly sure what they are doing, but he does appreciate that Prince Phillip is paying so much attention to his friend. 

For now, it's just time for him to get changed. He does want to look presentable for Miss Morgan's charity dance, after all.

-

Ten minutes later, Ivan steps into the main lobby of the museum, where lights and other musical devices are already set up for the dance, a decent crowd already forming. There he finds the rest of his team, all dressed up and finished helping with the last of the concessions and music.

Emily is in a fluttery yellow dress, Ms. Morgan is in a black jumpsuit, and Mack is in a full red suit. Tyler, on the other hand, is wearing a black blazer, red button-down, and black slacks. He and Shelby look rather smashing together, with his cleaned-up look and her beautiful pink and black graphic dress.

And to Ivan's shock, Koda is wearing a royal blue blazer and slacks with a light blue button-down underneath, his hair pulled back into a clean bun. Beside him is Prince Phillip, dressed in a clean dark gray suit and blue tie- the same shade of blue as Koda's suit. They look like a royal couple in this time should- polished, rich, and matching.

“You all look wonderful,” Ivan says, but all he can focus on is Chase and Riley. Riley’s looking like a Prince in his full dark green suit, while Chase is looking absolutely breathtaking in a black button-down and black skinny jeans. If his desire for them was there before, there is something about the way their clothing fits that makes his desire even stronger.

“Same to you, Ivan,” Chase says, a strange gleam in his eyes that must be just a trick of the lighting.

Riley nods. "He's right."

Shelby grins. "That was all Emily and I's work."

Miss Morgan raises an eyebrow at her Soulmate and Emily smiles. "Yep, Ivan and the two of us had fun at the mall, didn't we?"

That is certainly one thing you could call the experience they had there. Ivan does have to admit that things got a lot better after his panic attack and that he did have plenty of fun with the two women shopping for the rest of the day. All in all, Thursday afternoon and evening had been quite the productive, fun day. 

Ivan nods. "Lady Emily, Lady Shelby, and I had quite the quest through the shopping mall yesterday."

"It definitely paid off," Chase says, and Riley nudges him in the side. Ivan's brow furrows at the comment, but he's easily distracted by the music beginning. All the guests to the dance begin to dance, and Ivan finds himself joining in along with the rest of the team.

The first few songs are ones that are mostly group dances, or at least fast-paced music that connotes no romantic intentions. Ivan bounces from friend to friend as they all exchange dance partners.

-

Half an hour later, Ivan is in the middle of awkwardly standing by a table, watching whatever insane combination of movements Tyler, Shelby, and Emily are calling the dance of the "whip, nae nae" when the music shifts, and a slower song comes on- not slow enough for swaying, but slower than the high-paced style of music this time period typically favors outside of musicals.

Chase throws an inscrutable glance in Riley’s direction before looking Ivan straight in the eye and asking, “You wanna dance?”

"Are you sure Sir Riley doesn't mind?" Ivan asks, and Chase nods.

"I'm sure he doesn't." 

Ivan swallows. He had thought- at least, because it had been what he’d been shown in musicals- that only Soulmates danced to slow music together. Maybe this song isn’t slow enough, though. Ivan is sure that Chase would only ever want to dance to romantic songs with Riley.

Ivan nods, and Chase smiles.

“Let me show you how to move,” Chase says, and Ivan would have expected a smug tone to accompany such words but all he gets is a careful hand at his waist, a gentle guide through the more modern movements. Ivan’s breath catches at the soft pressure of Chase’s hand against such a vulnerable spot on the body.

Chase looks at him, eyes dark, and Ivan nearly shivers as he takes Chase's free hand in his own and they slide easily into the first movement of the dance. They are pressed so close that Ivan can feel Chase’s body heat through their shirts, feel Chase's breath against his cheek and neck, but he does not much mind. If this is the closest he will ever get to his Soulmates, then he’ll take it.

They spin around the room, moving almost as one person, movements fluid. It's just like a battle, albeit one made of intimacy rather than aggression and with hands pressing against each other instead of blades. Step in, step out, turn, move your bodies together with the instinct that only Soulmates hold-

Ivan has never felt anything this sensual before. Chase can’t possibly mean it in the way that he perceives it as, but-

But it is incredible, nonetheless.

- 

Riley knows he should be jealous of his Soulmate dancing with someone outside of their bond. He should be diametrically opposed to their bodies being that close together, to be pressed together in such casual intimacy.

But he can’t bring himself to be.

He understands what Chase means when he says that he likes Ivan. He doesn't want to, not when they have a Soulmate waiting for him, but here, in this lobby- things seem different. The lights of this stupidly ordinary dance fall and transform the lobby that is normally full of tourists and employees in burlap into something almost magical (you know, if Riley was someone who believed in magic).

Ivan and Chase move so naturally with each other, every movement as fluid as a single dancer’s. It's almost supernatural, their synchronicity. It's the kind of harmony that only comes with-

Riley swallows back the thought. No dwelling on painful thoughts of Soulmates and men who won't respond.

Tonight, Chase and Riley’s Marks are covered by their shirt sleeves. For a single, selfish dance, Riley can almost pretend that the Marks do not separate them from Ivan, that his Soulmate has not already met and rejected him, that Chase and Riley do not have someone out there waiting for them. Without the visual reminders that he and Chase are meant for each other but not for Ivan, the night feels a lot more natural.

For this one night, for these few dances, it can almost be like these feelings in his chest aren’t all wrong, like he doesn't feel like he's betraying the man that won't write them back.

Riley stares and a distant rage bubbles up in his chest, a resentment of those red Marks from months ago hitting him. 

He kind of resents the Soulmate who won't write Chase and him back, who won't explain why he never wrote before, who won't tell them anything. He's so distant, and why? Chase and Riley have been writing to him off and on for months now, and he hasn't written a damn thing.

Maybe if they knew something about him they wouldn't be dealing with this uncertainty, this crush on Ivan. After all, if it hadn't been for his Marks, they wouldn't have realized they were poly, and if he has just kept written to them, they probably would have been too focused on their mystery Soulmate to develop feelings for Ivan. Whenever their Soulmate shows up, he's just going to have to deal with the mess of feelings Riley and Chase have for Ivan, and their Soulmate is going to have to know that it's at least partially his fault.

Riley sighs and leans back against the wall behind him. If he's being honest, the lack of communication hurts. Is it so wrong that Riley wants answers for him and Chase, that he hates that small flash of disappointment on Chase's face whenever their Soulmate doesn't answer?

Riley wants- well, he just  _wants,_ full stop. He wants their Soulmate to respond, wants a dance with Chase, wants this crush to end, wants Ivan to like them back-

Then the song ends and Ivan and Chase break apart right near Riley.  

"Thanks for the dance, mate," Chase says with that charming grin of his.

"It was my pleasure, Sir Chase," Ivan says.

“Well, I’m gonna go grab a drink,” Chase says, then gestures to Riley. “Why don’t you and Riley dance together?” As Ivan turns to Riley, Chase winks at Riley over Ivan’s shoulder before heading off to the drinks table.

 _That bastard,_ Riley thinks fondly.

“Sir Riley, would you like to share a dance?” Ivan asks, all formal, all Ivan, and Riley nods. Ivan offers Riley his hand, and Riley takes it.

As the song starts up, Riley and Ivan assume traditional stances before moving into the opening movements of a waltz.

Riley and Ivan’s movements are a bit more disciplined, sharper and less fluid than Chase and Ivan’s, but they still work naturally together. This song has a beat that allows the dance to function far more like a traditional waltz, the kind of which Ivan knows all too well. It’s the kind of dance Ivan always expected to be dancing with his Soulmate- enough space between them to be proper, but close enough to be personal. Ivan wonders if Riley knows what this kind of dance meant back in his time, and then quickly discards the idea. There is no way Riley would be dancing with him if he was aware of such meaning.

Ivan tries to read Riley's expression, but his expression is almost inscrutable in the light, even more than Chase's. Riley is a stone wall, his expression steady, his focus extreme.

There’s a dip in the song, a pause between beats, and in a strange moment, at the end of a line, Ivan lifts Riley into the air. It’s a move he never would have done back in his time- he couldn’t lift a full grown man, especially in the middle of a song- but with the Power in his limbs, he finds himself able to accomplish such a maneuver. Riley moves gracefully through the motion as well.

As the end of the song starts to hit and the beat gets a little more intense, Ivan’s heart starts to do strange things in his chest. Riley’s green eyes are so beautiful, so clear, and his expression so focused. He is like Chase and yet so unlike him, the heat and focus in his gaze the same but the discipline in his movements different. Riley’s movements are perfect as those of the etiquette master back at the castle, almost as if he has trained for this moment.

Every part of Ivan’s skin is on fire, his hips and torso from Chase, his hands and shoulders from Riley. He feels raw, feels vulnerable, feels a host of things he never should have let himself feel.

Ivan wants to kiss Riley so badly, but he can’t. These two dances, these stolen songs- they’re all he gets to take from them. What happened at the carnival last Sunday- that was a bit of a fluke, a misunderstood outing between friends. A serenade, a dance, a battle- these mean nothing when the receivor of Ivan's affections do not know what he so desperately wishes for, when he's knee-deep in delusions about love powered by Shelby and Emily's words.

The song fades out and Ivan releases Riley's hand, feeling a sense of loss he could not place into words at the separation of the contact.

He offers a smile to Riley, his friend, his teammate, his not-Soulmate. “Thank you for the dance, Sir Riley,” he says, and finally, Riley’s face shifts out of that strange expression.

“Thank _you_ , Ivan,” Riley says with a smile as Chase walks up to them, two cups of soda in one hand and another cup in the other hand.

“Here,” Chase says, passing them out, first one to Riley and then one to Ivan. “Drinks for all.” He holds up his cup, eyes glinting in the strobing lights in the ceiling. “Cheers!”

“Cheers,” Ivan echoes in unison with Riley, feeling somewhat hollow inside despite the smile on his lips. He feels like some part of him has been scraped out, his skin made tender and craving the touch of another person.

Ivan can’t handle this for any longer. He has to go find a bathroom where he can be alone, where he can make himself small, where he doesn’t have to feel like his heart may burst if he touches Chase and Riley for one moment longer.

“If you’ll excuse me, kind Sirs, I must use the restroom,” he says, inclining his head to Chase and Riley in a shallow bow, and then he walks quickly out of the room, cup still clutched in hand.

-

“You were fucking flirting with the poor guy,” Riley says, “Way to go, hotshot.”

Chase shrugs, taking a sip from his cup. “I thought we agreed we both liked him.”

“He has a Soulmate, and so do we,” Riley says, ever the voice of logic. "We talked about that." 

Chase looks down at their hands, fingers loosely entangled from habit. Their sleeves are still down, covering up whatever Marks they drew this morning. In this moment, with the music in their ears and the lights flickering, the Marks do not mean as much as they usually do.

“Riley,” Chase says, voice low, and the hairs rise on the back of Riley’s neck. The tone Chase is speaking in- it’s really serious, so unlike Chase’s normal carefree attitude. The last time Riley heard it used was during the lie detector, when he was spilling their deepest secrets, and before that when Riley got severely injured in battle. “I've been thinking about this. We’re basically immortal for however long the Energems stay bonded with us, which looks like it may be the rest of time. Even if we find our Soulmate, whoever he is, he’s going to die far before us unless he’s the Silver, Aqua, or Purple Ranger."

Riley swallows. Though he has accepted the fact, he still hates it. The fact that their Soulmate won't respond doesn't matter. The idea that he and Chase will most likely live for eternity and have to watch their Soulmate grow old and crumble into death- that’s a horrifying concept that he doesn’t want to think about.

"Ivan, on the other hand-" Chase points out, "He’s here. And he’s immortal like us. And his Soulmate rejected him- somehow, for whatever bloody reason- which means he’s alone.”

Riley’s brain is incredibly logical, but he must be missing something here because he doesn’t think he’s computing this correctly. “Are you suggesting that we ask out Ivan- even though he’s not our Soulmate, and we’re not his, and we still have a Soulmate waiting out there somewhere for us?”

Chase glances out at the dance floor, where Ivan has returned to the dance floor. He is currently with Shelby, who is attempting to guide Ivan through the Cha Cha Slide. The way Ivan’s face scrunches up when he’s concentrating is unfairly adorable. “I think I am. Not now, but someday.”

“And our Soulmate?” Riley hates to press it, but if- or when- their Soulmate turns up, he doesn’t want him to feel like they just replaced him with Ivan.

“We wait for a little while, and then we talk to Ivan. We might have the rest of eternity to figure this out."

"Point there," Riley concedes. He then leans in and kisses Chase, curling his hand around the back of Chase's neck and into his hair. Chase gladly reciprocates, hands going to Riley's waist.

This is something that Riley loves completely- being tangled up with Chase, lips against lips, Chase being sweet and romantic. He loves being able to be this open with his Soulmate, being able to communicate his love this easily, not needing a single word.

(Riley can't wait until the day they get to do this with their third Soulmate or even Ivan, when there will be a third man to kiss, to shower love on. The very idea sends a very lovely shiver down his spine.) 

They eventually separate slightly, Riley's hands still hanging around the back of Chase's neck and Chase's hands on Riley's hips. 

"You know I love you, right?" Chase says, and Riley smiles.

"It's one of the facts of my universe," Riley says. "Like gravity or J.K. Rowling being an eternal disappointment."

Chase laughs. "You still pissed about Dumbledore?"

Riley slides his hands off of Chase's shoulders, dropping them back down to his sides. "No canon mention of the fact that he was in a poly Soulmate bond? Hell yeah, I'm pissed. You can't just say that in a tweet and claim ally status with a-"

Chase gives Riley a look. "Riley, you only found out we were poly two months ago. You can't be this up in arms about it already."

Riley rolls his eyes. "Watch me."

Chase winks. "I always am."

Riley nudges Chase in the arm with a small laugh.

-

Throughout the rest of the night, Ivan ends up dancing with the rest of the team, often one on one (but never as closely as he did with Chase or Riley, and definitely not with either of them alone again), and eventually his skin begins to feel normal again.

And it's fun, honest to Merlin. From learning “line dancing” from Shelby and Riley to cheering on a dance off between Tyler and Chase to watching Prince Phillip lead Koda through a traditional Zandarian waltz to listening to all the various types of music Miss Morgan and her Soulmates choose to play through the lobby, he spends the rest of the night really enjoying himself.

The idea of eternity with this group of friends, with this family, is not necessarily a sad one. It might actually be a happy one, if Ivan learns not to focus too much on the lack of Soulmates at his side.

Ivan looks over at Chase and Riley, dancing some silly, non-structured dance together, and he actually doesn't feel too much sorrow. If anything, he's just happy that they are.

And he's glad that it doesn't hurt so much anymore. Maybe someday, this content feeling is one he will always feel when he sees them happy without him. He certainly hopes for, at least.

-

At the end of the night they're back in the base. Nearly everyone is tired after all of the dancing and clean up of the lobby, and the majority of the excitement has died down. While Ivan circles the room, still testing out a few "line dancing" moves he's trying to get right, a low hum of commotion is happening throughout the base. Tyler and Shelby are still tiredly swaying together, slowly dancing around the base as they hum some song from that band they like, the one that Chase pretends not to be a fan of. Phillip and Koda are holding hands and sitting at the table, talking quietly, and Emily, Mack, and Ms. Morgan have napkin-wrapped brownies in their hands and are laughing at something on Mack's phone.

And Chase and Riley? Chase is draped over Riley from behind, his chin tucked over Riley's shoulder and his arms wrapped around Riley's. They both look tired, but there are smiles on both of their mouths as they stand and somehow talk in that semi-awkward position.

(They are so comfortably casual with each other, and Ivan is happy for them. Truly, he is.)

Then Prince Phillip stands from his seat at the table. "I will try to make it back here as much as possible," Phillip says, bending over slightly to take Koda's hand and kiss it. Koda blushes, and Ivan smiles. He is happy that his friend and his Prince are happy- they make a strong pairing. "I will keep fighting by your side until Sledge is defeated."

"And then after war ends," Koda says, "I spend more time with you?"

"You can live with me in Zandar, if you like," Prince Phillip says, and Koda's brow furrows.

"I cannot leave my family here," Koda says, "But I can be happy with you, Prince."

"That is all I want, Koda," Prince Phillip says, "For you to be happy."

"Thank you, Prince," Koda says, standing up and giving Prince Phillip a kiss. Prince Phillip smiles when they break away, then pulls Koda into a hug. Koda squeezes back, lifting the Prince slightly off the ground, but Prince Phillip is still smiling when his feet touch the earth again.

"Farewell, my love," Prince Phillip says.

"Goodbye, Prince," Koda says with a small wave, and then the Prince turns to leave.

"Good luck with your Soulmate, Sir Ivan," the Prince says, and some of the Rangers freeze, looking at Ivan with trepidation. Prince Phillip, after all, doesn't know about Ivan's Soulmate rejecting him.

But Ivan just smiles at his Prince. "And to you as well, sire, though you shan't need it."

Prince Phillip smiles back at Ivan. "Thank you, Sir Ivan."

"Just a blessing, sire."

"One that is appreciated," Prince Phillip asssures. He then leaves, waving as he exits. "Good night, everyone."

Everyone waves back, but then Shelby glances at the clock and her eyes go wide. "Shit," she says, "Ty, we've got the morning shift tomorrow. We better get going, too."

"You've got a good point," Tyler says. "Miss Morgan, we're heading out too!"

Miss Morgan nods and the two of them head out, hand in hand.

"Well, we don't have the morning shift," Chase says, "But tomorrow  _is_ the day  _The Force Awakens_  comes out and we've got advanced tickets, but we want to get there early to avoid the lines so we're gonna leave too."

"Can't miss  _The Force Awakens,_ " Mack says in sympathy. 

Chase nods. "Riley would kill me if we didn't get good seats."

Riley nudges him. "Oh, fuck off," he teases, "I wouldn't kill you- I'd just boycott kissing you for a week."

Chase shudders. "Well, you know I couldn't handle that, so we're gonna have to go sleep now. Have a good night, guys!"

And so Chase and Riley leave with a smile, and there are only five left in the room. Koda quickly fixes that, though, with an announcement: "I tired." He waves to everyone left. "Goodnight, family!" Then he heads into his room.

Emily, on the other hand, walks up to Ivan. "Hey, Ivan," she says, "I'm sorry about trying to force things for you."

Ivan nods. "Thank you, Lady Emily," he says, "I know you meant no harm."

Emily nods. "Well, then, I hope you have a good night, and that you find happiness wherever and whoever you end up with."

Ivan smiles despite the fact that he knows that he'll never move on. He knows that without his Soulmates, he's going to be alone for the rest of his life. "And I hope you, Sir Mack, and Miss Morgan have happiness together."

Mack steps up behind Emily. "You too, Ivan," he says, slipping his hand into Emily's. "You ready to go? Kendall's got one last thing to do, but she said that it'd be all good if we spend a few minutes in the lobby without her, maybe check out a fossil or two."

Emily's gaze slides back to Miss Morgan, who doesn't seem very busy, and then back to Mack. "Of course I'd like to see a fossil with you," she says, linking her elbow with Mack's. "Though that  _is_ usually Kendall's pick up line, not yours, you thief."

Mack grins as he and Emily walk out. "Will taught me only to steal from the best."

As soon as they're gone, Ms. Morgan walks up to Ivan and locks eyes with him. "Ivan," she says, and there's something so raw in her voice. "I want you to remember hope, okay? Whatever happens with them, I want you not to grieve."

Ivan looks at Ms. Morgan, at the woman who directs a museum and develops the weapons for their team and does it all living a long distance away from her Soulmates. She is the woman who does all of this without any recognition from the public, who is selfless and proud and dedicated all without an Energem.

Ivan hopes he is half as strong as she is. "I will certainly try, milady."

She gives him a small half-nod. "Good." She then smiles. "Well, good night, Ivan."

"Goodnight, Ms. Morgan," Ivan says, bowing his head slightly to Ms. Morgan, and she returns the nod before heading out the door after her Soulmates.

Ivan turns back to look at the rest of the base, empty of people and noise. Everyone is gone, now. Koda's in his cave, doing whatever he does before bed, and the rest of their teammates have gone home to their respective places.

Which means that he has the place to himself, and that he can continue the dances that ended hours ago.

Ivan hums as he waltzes slowly around the base, the song that he and Riley danced to still playing in his brain. " _Give a little time to me or burn this out..."_ He sings quietly, imagining that he is still on the dance floor, under the lights, dancing with both of his Soulmates. His vision is stained by the green of Riley's eyes and his hips can still feel the phantom touch of Chase's hand through his shirt.

" _All I want is the taste that your lips allow..."_ For a moment, everything is perfect and dream-like. He has Soulmates who love him back, who would dance with him without rejecting him, who would kiss him and smile. He has everything he's ever dreamed of.

_"Give me love, lover."_

But this room is quiet and dim, and the only one dancing is him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that last line really necessary? No, but it was fun to write!
> 
> Also, I googled what day of the week/year Force Awakens came out just to corroborate this story, just to make sure it came out on a Monday in 2015- which, fun fact, it did- in L.A. which is, you know, close enough to the fictional city of Amber Beach, California. 
> 
>  
> 
> So, next chapter is the last one before the epilogue. I can almost guarantee you that the chapter won't be as long as this monster of a chapter was, but shit's gonna go down hard. Hope you all are prepared!


	9. there's something broken about this (but I might be hoping about this)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I may be screaming a bit after finishing writing this chapter. (And to be honest, I may have screamed a bit while writing it. Things go very, very wrong for part of the chapter, and then they go so very right.)
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy this- parts of this chapter have been written since the beginning, and others came together just a few hours ago. This really feels like the culmination of everything this story has been so far, and it was a bit painful (okay, sometimes agonizing) but I think it (hopefully) was worth it.
> 
> There is still an epilogue after this, but this is the climax of all the angst and pain I put you guys through. I hope you enjoy my Valentine's Day gift to you all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to a number of songs for this chapter, but "Good in Me" by Jon Bellion or "Water Under The Bridge" by Adele just kinda seem to fit best, if you want a song to listen to.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, look! It didn't take a month to update! It took less than a week! Shocker, I know!

Ivan's earliest memory is that of his mother's voice, telling him a fairytale about Soulmates.

"Once there was a girl who was born just as any other," his mother told him as they laid down for bed. "She spent her whole life waiting until the day she met her Soulmate. Then she met him, and he Rejected her as his Soulmate- but only after giving her a child. She lived the rest of her life as an UnRequited, always knowing that she was missing part of herself."

And it would take him a few years for him to realize that the story was never a fairytale, but rather a story about her, a bitter story without a happy ending.

Ivan was glad that he was Soulless. He could never be the broken-hearted or the heartbreaker, never hurt anyone like his mother had been hurt.

Ivan never missed his father. It had only ever been the two of them in their small room in the Lord's castle, her on one bedroll and him on the other. He had never needed a father, not when he had his mother, Aliya of Calarran, to raise him and teach him.

The day he left for the King and Queen's castle to finally become an actual knight and pledge his loyalty to the throne of Zandar, his mother looked at him. "All I have ever seen when I've looked at you is your father," she said, and he knew the story. He knew what his father did to her. 

Ivan had hoped that she would see herself in Ivan, not his father. He didn't want to be his father, to ever be in a position that would destroy someone. To know that she only saw his father in him, the villain of all his childhood stories- that broke his heart a bit. 

He never saw his mother again, but his last thought before he was sucked into darkness was that he was almost happy that he never got to prove his mother right and ruin anyone like his mother was ruined.

-

Eight hundred years later, ink appears on Ivan's wrist and he wants nothing more than to be the kind of Soulmate he never got to have.

But at the end of the day, he's not surprised to find himself in his mother's shoes. He's actually happy that he's the one not doing the breaking.

-

It's Tuesday, two days after the dance, and Koda, Ivan, Chase, and Riley are walking through the park together, enjoying a very welcome afternoon shift off. The local bi-weekly fair is up, full of local shops and booths.

Ivan and his teammates' focus is caught by a woman at a nearby booth calling out to customers.

"What do you desire? Money? Love? Find luck with your Soulmate with my wish cards," she says.

"Wishing cards?" Riley asks, and both his face and tone point to his opinion on the topic: rather doubtful. "No thanks, we're not superstitious." He turns to the rest of the group and waves them along. "C'mon, guys."

Koda, on the other hand, pushes past Riley. "I am super squishiness," he says, aiming for a wish card that he begins to fill out.

Chase shrugs at Riley. "I could use all the help I could get, love."

"No, you don't," Riley says, and Ivan could certainly agree, but Chase is already at the table writing something on the card next to Koda's.

Ivan looks to Riley. "Does such sorcery actually work?"

"Frankly," Riley says, "No, it doesn't." He looks to his Soulmate. "C'mon, Chase, wishes don't magically come true."

"No harm in trying, though," Chase says with a wink as he drops his wish into the basket.

Shelby and Tyler walk up to them. "Hey, guys," Tyler says, "What's going on?"

A mixture of amusement and derision is dripping off of Riley's words as he speaks. "These guys are writing down their wishes, thinking they'll actually come true." He lets out a small laugh at the mere possibility.

Shelby shares a laugh. "Yeah, like that's actually gonna happen." Then she holds up the bag in her hand to Koda as the caveman turns around, having deposited his wish card. "Koda, got you the tropical burger."

Koda gasps, pointing to the bag and turning to point to the wishing table. "That my wish!" 

"No, no, no," Riley protests, "That's not magic. That's what you always wish for." His words don't prevent Koda from grabbing the burger and biting down, though.

Chase steps away from the wishing booth and next to Ivan, drawing Ivan's attention as he always does. “Sir Chase?” Ivan asks, “What was your wish?”

Riley rolls his eyes at Koda one last time and comes over to Chase. “Chase, since we went to see _The Force Awakens_ last night, you wanna head to the skatepark for our date today?”

Chase grins as he hisses out of the side of his mouth, “That was my wish, mate.”

“A date with Sir Riley?” Ivan asks, raising an eyebrow, and Riley rolls his eyes even as he grabs Chase's free hand.

“He probably wished for a date to the skate park, like _usual_ ,” Riley says without heat in his tone.

“That's because there's nothing better to wish for than a date with you, love,” Chase says with a wink, and Riley gives him a fond smile. Ivan watches as they walk off, hand in hand, talking about something or other that he probably does not know a thing about. 

Then Ivan turns back to the wish-giver’s table, where Shelby and Tyler are currently hurrying to fill out their own wishes.

Ivan bites his lip. What does he wish for more than anything else, deep in his heart of hearts? The answer is painfully clear- he wishes for his Soulmates to know who he is and still accept him, as impossible a dream as that may be.

He walks over, fills out a slip of paper, and slips his wish into the box behind Shelby and Tyler's.

After all, what's the harm in making an impossible wish?

-

Ivan spends the next hour or so travelling around the booths, him and Koda hanging out together. It's actually rather fun to spend time with the only other person who understands what it's like to be displaced from your own time period.

His browsing, however, is cut short when Koda starts moaning about his stomach, and soon enough Ivan finds himself standing with Koda in front of a trash can. Ivan holds Koda's hair as Koda throws up. After a few minutes of that, Ivan goes and purchases a water bottle before bringing it back to him.

"Thanks, Ivan," Koda says with a small nod as he opens up the water bottle, and Ivan nods back.

"It is no great inconvience, Sir Koda," Ivan says.

Then Ivan spots Chase and Riley walking over. “I am fucking regretting that wish,” Chase says, and Ivan immediately notices the way he’s limping, leaning just a bit against Riley.

“What just happened?” Ivan asks, brow furrowing with concern.

“We went to the skatepark and I was a bit...distracted, so I ended up wiping out against the edge of the ramp. Bruised my knee a bit."

“That wasn’t your wish, Chase,” Riley says, “That was just the fact that you kept staring at me and the ice cream I was carrying over and forgot to look at the ramp in front of you.”

“Koda not feel so good either,” Koda says, and though he looks a little less nauseous than before, he still looks like he might puke again any moment.

Shelby storms up to them, Tyler in hand, and Ivan winces at the way her left eye is half-swollen, almost starting to bruise.

“We need to talk about our wishes,” she says, and Chase doubletakes at her face.

“What the hell could you have wished for that made _that_ happen to your eye?”

“I wished for a nice picnic date,” Shelby says, “And we got ants all over our blanket, Tyler got bubbles in his eyes, and some monster’s weapon- which functioned weirdly like a frisbee- smacked me in the face during a fight.”

“And you, Sir Tyler?” Ivan asks, “What did you wish for?”

“I wished to see my dad, and I saw him, but then we were attacked by a monster. We took it down, but I lost track of him in the process.”

“We’ve gotta go talk to Kendall,” Riley says, “I think all of your wishes were cursed by a monster…” His voice trails off as he locks eyes with Ivan, and a chill goes down Ivan’s spine at the way Riley’s gaze seems to pierce right through him. “What’d you wish for, Ivan?” Riley asks, and Ivan freezes.

Oh, Merlin, _no._ If their wishes are cursed, his wish could very easily backfire on Riley and Chase. He can’t bear to see them hurt, especially at his hands-

“I wished…” Ivan can’t bring himself to voice his wish, to admit to what he wrote down.

“If it’s private, I’m sorry,” Chase says, “But we kind of gotta know what it is to protect against it going wrong.”

Well, does he have to name Chase and Riley? He’s been lying to them for so long- just saying “his Soulmates,” which is technically true, should work. His wish _should_ backfire on him and not them, by the logic of how everyone else’s wishes went.

“I wished for my Soulmates to-” he begins, but he’s cut off by his teammates' shouts.

“Ivan, duck!” he hears Riley and Chase shout, but he's blasted from the back before he has a chance to respond. He finds himself on the ground ten feet away from where he was standing, a vise around his throat, a voice whispering in his head. What it's saying is unintelligible, just a bunch of slurred mumbles. He can't explain how, but he knows instinctively what this spell is, despite the lack of clarity from the voices in his head.

Ivan sees Riley, Chase, and Shelby heading toward him and he waves them off.

“Truth spell,” he declares, “Do not ask me anything until it wears off, please-”

“Gold Ranger,” an unfamiliar voice cackles, and Ivan looks over to see a monster with a strange, almost monocle-like attachment to its face. Ivan hopes to the name of God and Merlin that it doesn't demand him say anything too horrible. “Tell your friends your deepest, darkest secret.”

Ivan tries desperately to fight it, but his attempts only end with him hacking and coughing on the ground, unable to breathe as his throat closes in on itself like during one of those panic attacks Chase talked about. The monster's spell is pulling the words out of his mind, and Ivan can feel the truth being ripped from his throat. _Please, dear Merlin, no-_

“I know who my Soulmates are,” tears its way out of Ivan's throat, and all the Rangers look at him, some of them with looks of confusion in their eyes.

“You don't have to tell,” Shelby says, and Ivan wants to listen to her. He wants nothing more than to keep these words inside of him, but he can’t. Whatever the monster blasted him with is forcing his secrets up and out of his throat.

Ivan can feel the tears pricking at the backs of his eyes. He didn't want this come out, not like this, not _ever,_ but his lips are parting and he can't stop them-

“Guys, don't listen-” Shelby tries to instruct, and the guys all raise their hands to their ears, but Ivan's words, pulled by the monster's spell, come too fast for anyone to stop.

“My Soulmates are Chase and Riley,” Ivan nearly sobs, and the world seems to shatter as his two teammates- his Soulmates, the two people he never wanted to hurt- freeze and stare at him. He can see the betrayal starting to form in Chase's eyes, the shock already born in Riley's.

“Ivan, did you just say-” Chase begins, but then they're saved by the monster summoning Vivex and ordering them to attack. Ivan can feel the spell relinquish its hold on his tongue, but it's too late, far too late. He's already spilled his greatest truth.

As they morph, Ivan risks one glance in Chase and Riley’s direction. They are both in the process of Morphing, but they are both looking at each other in shock.

Then the armor slides over their faces, and all Ivan has to face is the black and green solid visors which reflect not the expressions of his Soulmates, but instead just the dispassionate scenery around them. Ivan can't tell how they feel, whether they are angry or betrayed or confused, and he can't decide how he should feel.

Then they charge into battle, and for a few minutes Ivan doesn't have to think about his Soulmates and the way his friendships with Chase and Riley have probably just died a horrible death. Instead, he can just focus on battle, on the saber in his hands and the monster who just destroyed everything Ivan has tried to build in this time.

-

“So,” Riley says the moment they DeMorph, “You're our Soulmate, Ivan.” Ivan is thankful for the diplomatic tone Riley is attempting, though it does make Ivan feel even more guilty for how uncomfortable he has probably made Riley.

“How long have you known that you’re our Soulmate?” Chase cuts in and asks, and Ivan is kind of scared of the betrayal and anger in his eyes. Across the field, he can see Shelby grabbing Koda and Tyler and pulling them away, and he reminds himself to thank her for allowing him his rejection in relative privacy.

“I started to see the writing on my arm when I was trapped inside of Fury,” Ivan says, and for a moment he remembers the dim light of Fury’s prison, the way their writing kept him going, kept him sane, kept him motivated to find a way out.

(And now...that will be gone, along with the friendship he has built with these men. He will have no Marks, nothing but bare skin.

Ivan bites back a bitter sob. He knew this would happen, but that doesn't mean he could brace himself well for the tragedy.)

“You've known since the moment we met?” Riley asks, and Ivan hates the way Riley's voice sounds a bit broken.

“Why the bloody fuck didn't you tell us?” Chase asks, and Ivan nearly flinches at the anger in his tone. “You _lied_ to us when we asked you-”

Ivan swallows, looks at the faces of the two men he never wanted to hurt. “I watched you two fall in love with each other for years without me ever being involved. You met and didn't realize that I wasn't there, and why would you? You two were definitely happy without me. When I met you, why would I ever spoil that?”

But his words don’t seem to make any impact. Riley’s expression is dark, and Ivan can practically see his thoughts running faster than the fae turn back time. “Before,” Riley says, and his voice sounds kind of heartbroken. “You said- you said that your Soulmate- Soul _mates_ \- don’t want you, that they'd _rejected_ you. You were talking about us, weren’t you?”

Chase’s face instantly shifts, his anger dissolving into shock. He glances at Riley, expression stricken. Ivan doesn’t know how to interpret his expression, so he just doesn’t. He focuses on Riley’s question instead of Chase’s facial cues.

“Well, you don’t,” Ivan says, matter-of-fact. “Like I said, Sir Riley- you two were happy before I entered the picture. I saw you fall in love through the Marks. I _know_ that you didn’t need me to be happy. I would have only disrupted things. That's why I said you'd rejected me- because it was an inevitability that you would."

“God, we've been talking about asking you out for a couple of weeks now, before we even knew you were our Soulmate," Riley says, and Ivan's breath catches in his throat. They've been doing _what_? But... _how_?

“You idiot,” Chase says, and something in his voice is unexpectedly fond. It confuses Ivan- the disconnect between Chase's fond tone and harsh words, between his previous anger and his current softness. "No wonder you're our Soulmate."

Ivan wishes so badly that this could be true, but he knows that- well, at least he thinks he knows that- they don't want him. How could they? He is not of this time, not of the world that could easily understand them and make them happy. (But what about Phillip and Koda, who still love each other despite the time difference?)

(No, Phillip and Koda are different- they were not truly happy until they found each other. Chase and Riley have been truly happy without him.

...Right?)

He takes a deep breath. “You're just telling me that to make me feel better about being an Unrequited,” Ivan says. “You are good men, with good hearts, but do not feel guilty about me-”

“You're not an Unrequited, Ivan,” Riley says, voice and eyes strangely soft, but Ivan can't believe him.

“How could that be?” He’s genuinely confused. How could he be anything but Unrequited, when Riley and Chase are so happy on their own? “If I love you and you do not love me-?”

“What does this tell you?” Chase practically growls. He steps forward, grabs Ivan’s cheeks in his hands, and presses a hard kiss to Ivan's lips. At first Ivan doesn't know what to do, but then his lips soften, responding to the pressure of Chase's lips.

He's never kissed anyone before- he's watched his fellow Rangers participate in such an activity, but he himself never engaged in it. He's often wondered what it is like, how it could feel to his lips pressed against his Soulmate's, and he's never been quite certain how pressing flesh to flesh would incite such smiles and bright eyes in the after.

There must have been something he missed, because whatever he had imagined, it hadn't been this indescribable but undeniably positive emotion. Kissing Chase is like when he defended Prince Colin from Fury- undeniably right in every way, accompanied by a rush of exhilaration. Ivan's body knows he was meant to do this, glories in the action.

Chase is talented at this activity- he tilts his chin up, angling his lips to pull Ivan deeper into a kiss, and Ivan lets him guide them. It's like dancing again, with Chase in the lead, with all of Ivan's trust in his hands (or, in this case, his lips).

When they part, Ivan isn't crying. Knights of Zandar, Power Rangers, brave warriors don't cry. But the back of his eyes are burning and there's a lump in his throat and every part of him is threatening to burst with emotion.

So perhaps he is crying, but maybe happy tears are okay, if this is the cause.

Chase steps back, and Ivan nearly reaches out to pull him in again, only barely managing to catch himself.

Then Riley steps forward. “Chase was a bit forward with his intentions, but _I'll_ ask first,” he says, and the breath leaves Ivan's lungs. “May I?”

For once, Ivan's words are failing him, so instead, he nods. Riley leans in, cupping Ivan's jaw in his hand, and presses a gentle kiss to Ivan's lips. It's so different than Chase's kiss- less desperate, less demanding- but Ivan still loves it. It is a softer form of affection, a promise of something more rather than a blunt answer to a question.

Ivan _loves_ it. He loves everything about these two men, loves Chase's flirting and Riley's logic and Chase's stubbornness and Riley's passion and both of their selflessness and bravery.

When they separate, Ivan doesn't know what to say. Is there anything he  _can_ say?

“So,” Chase says, “Do you believe us now?”

“I think I might be able to,” Ivan says, heart threatening to burst.

"Good," Riley says, giving Ivan a smile, the kind he normally only gives Chase. The idea that Ivan will be on the receiving ends of those smiles, will get to be happy with Chase and Riley, will get to be in love and have it reciprocated- he can't help but smile, and for once, it doesn't hurt that he does so.

-

And finally, Chase understands.

He is one of Ivan's Soulmates. Ivan is one of his. He understands the quiet moments, the long glances, the strange comments and the hidden smiles and every melancholic thing about Ivan. He understands the song Ivan sang (a serenade, more than the elegy Riley and Chase thought it was), the constant covering of the wrists, the, well,  _everything_.

Chase has a few questions for Ivan, but very few of them are about the  _whys_. From what Ivan says, Chase kind of understands why Ivan didn't tell them about being Soulmates. The fact that he didn't think they would like him because they were happy without him- it's not something that Chase could ever think, but he at least somewhat gets Ivan's twisted rationale.

(He does, however, wonder what kind of level of damage could have done that to Ivan, could have had that kind of effect on Ivan's perception of himself in a relationship.)

The willingness to live alone without telling them, to never confront the issue but to constantly be exposing yourself to the problem? That's not really the thought process of a healthy person.

There was no such thing as mental health in the medieval era. Ivan didn't even know what a panic attack was. There's no way he could realize that how he's thinking about things is wrong, that there was something off about the fact that he was constantly experiencing panic attacks and never telling his Soulmates about what he was thinking. 

Chase is really going to have to call his mom and ask her some advice about how to handle the whole situation. He's not exactly sure if her specialization in Anxiety Disorders is going to help with questions about Soulmate issues and a knight adjusting to the modern day, but it certainly can't hurt.)

So they sit down at one of the circular tables in the park, each of them on a different side. Chase is careful to make sure that he and Riley aren't sitting next to each other- he wants things to be balanced. He wants to start things off right.

"So, the first thing I want to know is: why did you write that you were sorry?" Riley asks. Unlike Chase, he wants the  _whys_. He wants to know the causes, the answers, and it's something about him that Chase has always loved.

Ivan's not really looking them in the eyes. Instead, his gaze is mostly focused on his hands. His fingers are fidgeting a little on the table, and Chase suddenly finds himself hoping that Ivan doesn't have another panic attack. "It was right after you'd gotten injured in battle, and I was feeling guilty that I hadn't been able to keep you from getting hurt."

"We all signed up for risk when we agreed to be Power Rangers," Riley says, ever logical, but Chase remembers his own fear during that situation. He remembers Riley dying on that table, the sheer terror that Riley would die despite the Energem's promise of such a long lifespan. The idea of losing his Soulmate after only knowing him for a year- that had been the most afraid Chase has ever been before.

Thank god Kendall had whipped up that device that saved Riley's life- Chase's gaze falls to the energems dangling around all of their necks, the gold and green and black tying them together.

Chase wasn't the only Soulmate that Kendall's device had pulled from.

"Wait a moment," Chase says, eyes widening. "It pulled from you too, didn't it?"

Riley raises an eyebrow. "What happened to him?"

"The device that saved you life- it pulled more energy from me than the others because I was your Soulmate, nearly knocked me out."

"So that means..." Riley turns to look at Ivan."You didn't risk my life, Ivan," he says, reaching across the table to take Ivan's hand in his. Ivan's eyes go wide but, thankfully, he doesn't pull away. "You helped save it."

"You do have a good point there, Sir Riley," Ivan says, staring at his hand in Riley's. He seems almost in awe of the connection.

Chase wonders what kind of self-doubt Ivan must have gone through over the past year. Ivan knew they were Soulmates since the moment they met- Chase and Riley didn't even realize they had a third Soulmate until a couple of months ago.

Chase knows that he and Riley are a really affectionate couple. Chase likes to flirt, Riley likes to kiss, and they both like to hug and hold each other. Chase can't quite wrap his own mind around Ivan's mindset- he himself would never have just stood and watched, depriving himself of happiness- but he understands how Ivan must have hurt, watching them and thinking that he didn't have a place with them.

Chase offers a hand across the table, and Ivan takes it with his free hand, looking as stunned as he did when Riley offered him his hand. Riley smiles approvingly, and Chase is thankful.

Chase isn't going to dismiss the pain that he and Riley went through worrying about Ivan, but he doesn't want to deal with that until  _after_ he gets Ivan talking to his mom about his own mental health issues. He wants Ivan to adjust to their relationship and deal with his mental health before they do anything-

Chase nearly laughs at himself. When the bloody hell did he mature? Two years ago, his only thoughts were about how many hours he could get at the local skate park, his latest conversation with Riley, and the likelihood of him graduating with nothing lower than a C on his transcript. Now, he's dealing with fighting a war, a knight's mental health and their Soulbond with him, and the implications of immortality.

"Thank you, Sir Chase," Ivan says, smile warm, and Chase knows that the three of them will be able to figure this all out. Not that he had any doubts, of course- he was the one to suggest dating Ivan to Riley, after all- but now everything just seems all the more  _right_. 

-

An hour later, the three of them arrive back to the base to find Shelby, Koda, Tyler, and Miss Morgan waiting for them. Emily and Mack left yesterday, and it's back to being just their team, their family, here in Amber Beach.

Riley kind of appreciates it for a moment such as this, so intimate and personal. Emily and Mack were nice, but for a Soulmate moment? The two of them aren't members of his team. They're not the same.

(All that he kind of wishes was that Prince Phillip was here. If only that happened, then the whole team would be here.) 

Shelby takes one look at them- at the coat draped over Ivan's arm from where he took it off for their walk through the park as they continued their conversation- and looks Ivan directly in the eye. "How did things go?" she asks, and Riley catches the looks of anticipation in his teammates' faces. How many of them have been waiting for this?

"They went rather well, I would say," Ivan says, the softest smile Riley's ever seen on his face.

Shelby's mouth split into a grin and she yanks Ivan into a hug. "Congratulations, man!"

Ivan's face lights up and Chase slips his hand into Riley's as Shelby pulls Ivan to the side to talk to him. "I know you've got doubts," Chase says quietly, "But-"

"I don't have any doubts anymore," Riley says, looking at Ivan, his sleeves rolled up, his Soulmarks clear for anyone to see. "I haven't really had any since our conversation at the dance, and any that still lingered are definitely gone now."

Chase grins that smile that lights up his face. "Perfect. 'Cause I was thinking date night tomorrow?"

"We are  _not_ taking our Soulmate to the skatepark as a first date," Riley instantly says, and Chase shakes his head.

"Nah, I wasn't thinking that- or anything too fancy, either."

"Then sounds like a good idea," Riley says. After all, they want to make a good first impression romantically and- Riley groans. "Wait a moment- we already had our first date, didn't we?"

Chase raises an eyebrow. "When?"

"The carnival."

"When you won Ivan and I stuffed animals and we ate funnel cake and- shite, you're right."

Riley smirks. "I always am."

"That you are," Chase agrees easily.

-

That night, after a few more hours of conversation and a late dinner after the museum closed at 7, it comes time for everyone to start to leave.

Tyler and Shelby beg out first, Shelby giving a slightly confused Ivan a high-five on her way out. He has been in this time long enough to learn what the motion means, the mutual congratulations that the gesture communicates.

Then Koda ducks out, and Miss Morgan offers the three of them a small smile on her way out. "I'm happy for you all," she says. "And Ivan, Emily wants to tell you that she's really glad you, quote, "got your shit together.""

Ivan smiles. "I'm glad I did as well, Miss Morgan."

Miss Morgan nods. "Well, good night, boys. See you for your shift in the morning."

"Wouldn't miss it, Miss Morgan," Riley says, and Miss Morgan leaves.

Ivan turns to look at his Soulmates. "Well, it is time to part ways for the night," Ivan says, and though something pulls in his heart he knows that he has gotten far more than he deserved today. Tomorrow looks far better than it did yesterday, and if this day has not been a dream then he can't wait for a life with Riley and Chase.

Chase grins and presses a quick kiss to Ivan's cheek- and damn, he will never get used to that sensation (or at least he hopes he won't)- but it seems that Riley has other ideas, from the thoughtful look on his face. "Wait. Ivan, you sleep in the base, don't you?" he asks, and Ivan nods.

"On my cot in one of the backrooms," Ivan confirms. They know this- he has lived in the base for months, now.

"Do you want to go home with us tonight?" Riley offers, and Ivan's eyes go wide. That's far more than he ever could have expected.

"Go home with you? But I-"

"We  _are_ Soulmates, Ivan," Chase interrupts gently, "The rest of eternity awaits us. If you're comfortable with it, we want you to stay with us."

The decision is an easy one, in the end. They  _are_ his to love, as surprised as he still is by the idea. Spending the night at their apartment is not the strangest of ideas, and is in fact a rather welcome one. Chase has a point- there is the rest of eternity to prepare for.

"Let me just grab a change of clothing for the 'morrow," Ivan says, scarcely believing his luck.

Ivan heads back into his room and picks up Mary, a tunic, a pair of trousers, and a set of undergarments. That's all he'll need for work tomorrow, and to sleep tonight.

He takes one more glance around his barren room, at the cot he slept in alone, and resists the urge to pinch himself. This is real. He is about to go sleep at his Soulmates' apartment.

Perhaps he'll wake up in the morning and find this all to be a dream, but he can't quite bring himself to believe that. Not once has he ever seriously dreamed about Chase and Riley liking him back- it was never even a possibility. What has happened- it  _must_ be real.

He takes a deep breath, turns around, and exits his room. "I am ready to go," he says to the two of them.

"Great," Chase says, and summons his Energem from its resting place. "Looks like we'll be walking- good thing it's warm out tonight." He then looks to Ivan's arms and the small bundle in his hands. "You have a bag, Ivan?"

"Use my bag," Riley offers, sliding his backpack off of his back. Ivan gratefully places his small bundle into the bag, and then Riley zips it up and slings it back over his shoulder.

"My gratitude, Sir Riley," Ivan says, and Riley smiles.

"No problem."

-

It is Ivan's first time entering Chase and Riley's apartment. He's never had a reason to, before- the only apartment he's seen in the modern day is Tyler's and Shelby's, and that was because after a shift once Shelby and Tyler had invited him and Koda over for dinner.

Chase and Riley's apartment is nothing too impressive, he thinks- Shelby and Tyler's had been slightly bigger, and certainly more colorful, with a red rug and models of dinosaurs scattered around the place, and of course the base is huge compared to either apartment. Chase and Riley's apartment has mostly wooden and tile floors, with a trunk in front of a sofa and a swivel chair in the living room and a small kitchen from what Ivan can see. Down the short hallway there are two doors- presumably the bedroom and the bathroom.

The one detail that catches Ivan's eye, though, are the three stools seated at the counter. One of them is different and has to be newer- could they have specifically gotten one for their third Soulmate? For him?

The realization hits him in the chest, not strong enough to cause a panic attack but strong enough to incite his heart to beat faster- they aren't lying. They were waiting for him.

Ivan is  _wanted_.

Chase leans in and presses a kiss to Ivan's cheek. "Welcome home," he says, and Ivan swallows. He doesn't know how to respond to such casual affection, such an invitation. He has spent years preparing himself to be alone, how to sleep by himself, to sit in solitude while the rest of the world found the ones they were meant to be with.

"Thank you," Ivan says, and Chase answers with a smile.

"It's our pleasure," Riley says, slipping his hand into Ivan's, and his palms are calloused by the farm work he's sometimes mentioned. It hits Ivan that it is quite likely that someday, he'll get to see the farm Riley was raised on. He'll get to meet Chase and Riley's mothers and see Chase's little sister again and meet Riley's older brother.

This is going to be a lot, Ivan knows, but he actually finds himself looking forward to it. He wants to live with his Soulmates, to meet their families, to love them with everything he thought he was never going to be able to give.

Ivan has his doubts, sure, but he also has hope. They can make this work, right?

"So let us show you around," Chase says, and Riley grins as they follow Chase to the kitchen.

Yes, they can make this work. Ivan has faith.

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a kudos and/or a comment! Both really motivate me to keep writing and are really appreciated!


End file.
